Mobile boiler houses are set to banish heating crises in Durham County Council buildings.

Two travelling boiler houses will provide heat while permanent plants are replaced or during emergency breakdowns.

The Abbey Day Centre in Pity Me is first to benefit from the system, which was designed by the council's in-house heating engineers.

The mobile system is making sure the heat is on while the centre's own boiler is replaced.

Director of environment and technical services, Chris Tunstall, said: "Without mobile boiler houses we have to do all our replacement work during the summer.

"Having these two mobile boiler houses means we can now spread the workload throughout the year with all the benefits that brings."

Mr Tunstall said the biggest beneficiaries of the system would be people in schools and other community buildings.

In future, their heating plants would be able to be updated without the buildings having to be closed