COUNCIL bosses are setting up a £250,000 project to look into the extent of a potential asbestos timebomb lurking in County Durham's public buildings.

Hundreds of the county's buildings were built using the killer fibre so Durham County Council has set aside £100,000 to create a corporate asbestos team, with a £150,000 budget to carry out the survey.

The council's corporate strategy and budget sub-committee is expected to approve plans for the two-year survey.

A council spokesman said: "The problem is that asbestos was used to line building materials when much of the council's building stock was constructed.

"It does not present a health hazard unless it's disturbed. When you go in to carry out repairs or maintenance it can present problems.

"Our survey hopes to identify buildings where it is present, so that when we go in we know what measures we need to avoid it."

Independent Aycliffe county councillor Tony Moor said: "The Government should give us money for this rather than letting it come out of our budget. It's not just a budget issue, it's a national issue."