AN art project which aims to educate the public about the scale of domestic violence in County Du-ham has been such a success it has been given a six-month extension.

Derwentside district councillors are to allow theatre workers the free use of a house in Rogerley Terrace, Catchgate, near Annfield Plain, for another six months.

In the house, members of the Theatre Cap a Pie group and the Derwentside Domestic Violence Forum enact the roles of abusers and abused in a family situation. Clues are left around the property to hint that something is seriously wrong.

The project was due to run for only two weeks last summer, but was identified as an educational tool for social worker students.

A link has been established with the social work courses at Durham and Northumbria Universities. Members of Derwentside council's cabinet committee agreed to the extension this week