l Graham Meredith, of Harris Street, is a night shift worker at the Rothmans tobacco factory in Darlington. He said: "Our council tax has gone up and we have to put up with all of this. My biggest problem is getting any sleep. It is a bit of a nightmare.

"At one stage we had the water board outside our house, the cable people across the road and NEDL at the top of the street.

"With it being the summer as well you cannot open the windows because of the dust.

"When you speak to anybody they don't apologise either for the inconvenience, which is the most annoying thing."

l Marion Robinson, who lives in Cobden Street, said: "Nobody has told us anything. People start something, leave it and come back again. If you're on nights and they come first thing in the morning it must be bad."

l Graham Thomas, who has lived in Milton Street for more than 15 years, said: "One set of repairs just seems to follow another and it has been a bit of a pain for me and my wife.

"Occasionally you have a day off and you want a lie-in and they are there digging at 8am.

"Getting the car in and out of the driveway has been a problem as well."