TWO months after Health Secretary Alan Milburn ordered an inquiry into alleged cigarette smuggling at his local hospital, bosses say there is still no evidence to back the claims.

Mr Milburn ordered the probe at Darlington Memorial Hospital, in October, after a tip-off to the Health Secretary from a constituent.

But after months of vigilance by managers at the 450-bed hospital trust, bosses say there is nothing to back up the allegation.

A letter to the Health Secretary claimed that there was "a significant distribution network of contraband cigarette sales, which flows freely within the Memorial Hospital, Darlington, which satisfies both staff and patient needs".

Tobacco smuggling is rife in the North-East with regular swoops on contraband goods by customs officials.

At the time, a spokeswoman for Mr Milburn's constituency office, in Victoria Road, Darlington, said: "We raised it with the hospital, who are taking it very seriously."

John Saxby, chief executive of the South Durham Health Care NHS Trust, which includes the Darlington hospital, made an announcement that any staff caught selling contraband cigarettes faced dismissal.

Health workers were warned about the consequences of cigarette smuggling at a series of staff meetings around the Woodland Road site.

A spokeswoman for the trust said: "Staff were told that if they had any information they should come forward.

"If necessary this could be done in confidence."

But despite the hospital being put on red alert, there is not a shred of evidence to vindicate the complaint.

A spokeswoman in Mr Milburn's constituency office said they had not been able to speak to the informant since the issue was first raised, so they were unable to check whether the alleged smuggling was still going on.

Cigarettes cannot be sold in the hospital, and in-patients can only smoke under exceptional circumstances, and at the discretion of ward sisters.

Apart from a couple of "out-of-the-way" areas set aside for staff, smoking is prohibited