DARLINGTON-based care home providers, Castlebeck, are to close a home at the centre of allegations of abuse of vulnerable adult patients.

Castlebeck said it had voluntarily relinquished the hospital registration of Winterbourne View, near Bristol, where 13 members of staff have been suspended after a Panorama investigation last month.

It will close on Friday.

In a short statement, the firm said: The hospital will effectively close this Friday (June 24), when the last patients are transferred to alternative services.

Castlebeck has been working closely with families and carers, commissioners and other professionals from the NHS and social services to ensure patients are safely transferred with minimum disruption to their lives.

Avon and Somerset Police have arrested and bailed eight men and three women in connection with the case.