PLANS to take away a village's school crossing patrol have sparked anger.

Durham County Council is moving the patrol from Front Street, Croxdale, in September because of a schools shake-up in nearby Spennymoor, where it says a patrol is most needed.

The move has angered Durham city councillor Joe Anderson, who says it will put youngsters in danger.

Councillor Anderson, who has complained to the county council, says it is another facility or service that the village has lost.

Croxdale no longer has a school so children have to travel to Tudhoe or Spennymoor, and many have to cross the village's busy Front Street.

"It is a very busy road and the vehicles go like bats out of hell along it," said Coun Anderson, a former Durham mayor. "There was a child killed there a few years ago.

"The county did a survey and they said there is no need for the patrol, but I disagree totally. A lot of parents are worried about losing the patrol.

"They seem to be taking another facility off us. We lost the post office, even though we put up a fight to keep it, but now we seem to have nothing.

"We are not going to be classed as second-class citizens. If they think we are going to sit down and take it they are mistaken. We are first-class citizens and we are not going to stand for this."

A spokeswoman for Durham County Council said the move was prompted by the amalgamation of Bessemer Park Nursery and Infants schools and North Road Junior School.

After a survey of the Croxdale crossings use it "seemed appropriate to redirect the patrol to where there is most need and where the most children are.''

She added that the exact location had yet to be decided.