A PENSIONER who wants to buy a strip of land from the council says he is not being treated the same as his neighbours.

Barry Price, 66, of Hutton Place, Newton Aycliffe, has been trying to buy land in front of his house for about five years.

But he says Sedgefield Borough Council keeps refusing to sell, despite allowing a number of his neighbours to make similar purchases.

Mr Price has wanted to create a garden area up to the front of his house for a number of years, but has been unable to do so because he does not own the land.

He has made repeated requests to the council, but cannot understand why his application keeps getting rejected. He said: "Next door but one to me has been sold a piece of land in front of his house, as have various others on the estate, but I've been refused. The fact that I've been constantly refused doesn't seem equal-handed to me - it's taken me a long time to get nowhere."

A spokesman for Sedgefield Borough Council said: "This is an ongoing saga. We offered to sell Mr Price a metre strip, but he wouldn't accept that.

"The area of land he wants wouldn't get planning permission for what he wants to use it for.

"And when he draws comparisons with others, he is not comparing like with like, because it is a much bigger area and would be an intrusion into a public open space.