ACTION has been promised to tackle the mystery floods around a tiny North-East village which just will not go away.

Huge pools of water have built up around the edges of Bishop Middleham, near Sedgefield, County Durham, during the past two years.

The problem has been blamed on excessive recent rainfall, which has been the highest in the area since records began in 1776.

But there is also a suggestion that the water table could have risen because of flooding in disused underground mine workings.

The situation has got so bad that Durham County Council is to carry out a major survey to try and solve the mystery.

There are three main areas of flooding. Agricultural land near Stonybeck Lane has been described by one concerned resident as "a mini-Windermere" and the village allotment site has also been badly affected.

The area of most concern is a playing field at the local primary school, which has been submerged for a year.

Efforts by the school to pump the water out have failed.

The council has now agreed to reimburse the cost of the operation and is to erect a safety fence to keep children away from the floodwater.

Dave Wilkinson, the council's land reclamation business manager, said: "The school is one of a number of sites in the Bishop Middleham area which are affected by flooding.

"They are in the lower lying areas of the village and this would indicate that the water table is high, probably due to the recent amount of rainfall in the early part of the year.

"We need to carry out an extensive survey to find the extent of the problem and advise on possible solutions."

Durham County Council leader Ken Manton, who represents the area, said: "It is important we find out exactly what is causing this problem and deal with it quickly, and I am pleased the first step in achieving this is already under way."

Families are still counting the cost of some of the worst flooding in decades.

Communities in South Church, Bishop Auckland, and across North Yorkshire lost possessions which will never be replaced and are paying the price through higher insurance premiums.