A WRECKER'S ball is again to swing into action on a Teesside housing estate.
Six empty but vandalised homes at St Hilda's, Middlesbrough, have been earmarked for demolition.
Four are to be flattened imminently. It was only two years ago that a housing association bulldozed 46 ten-year-old houses, because no one wanted to live there.
The six wrecked privately- owned houses ringed for destruction have been bought by Middlesbrough Borough Council - only to be knocked down.
It is the latest phase in the council's policy of buying up eyesore properties for demolition, to improve the surroundings for remaining residents.
A council report states: "The recommendations are in line with the corporate objectives of promoting a safe and sustainable environment and promoting the regeneration of Middlesbrough.
The six houses are at Tower Green, St Hilda's. Their sites will be levelled and grassed over. Last year, St Hilda's featured in a national league table, in the top five of the most deprived estates in the UK.
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