THOUSANDS of pounds are to be spent on an area around a sheltered housing complex which residents say has become a rubbish dump.

Elderly people living in the Park Place and Hargreave Terrace residential complex, in Darlington, have complained to the borough council about the state of their surroundings.

They say bushes have been allowed to grow out of control, and because passers-by have been dumping litter in the undergrowth, rats have been attracted to the area.

Residents have written to the council saying that the overgrown bushes have become a hiding place for potential muggers.

All of the residents in the complex are elderly and some are disabled, so they are unable to tidy up the area themselves.

Some say they are unable to see out of their windows because the overgrown bushes are obscuring their view, and window cleaners cannot gain access to do their job properly.

A petition has been sent to the council calling for action.

A spokeswoman for the residents said: "Residents can not see out of their windows for overgrown bushes, which are just rubbish dumps, very unhygienic places for empty food cartons, bottles and paper to be thrown.

"Residents have been mugged by youths hiding in the bushes and jumping out on them, and we now have rats running about in the bushes. We have been promised something will be done and, so far, the council has trimmed a few bushes, but that is all."

A council spokeswoman said that the local authority was looking at the area around Park Place in order to improve it.

She said detailed consultation had taken place and people living at the residential complex had been asked to fill in questionnaires about their needs.

She said: "A big programme is planned for the area, with £11,500 earmarked for the whole of that part of town.

"This will include new footpaths and the removal of bushes.

"We expect work to start soon and hope the residents will like the improvements."

The spokeswoman also said that any day-to-day problems which occurred before the work started would be looked at by the council.