Hundreds of homes on a run-down housing estate on Teesside could be demolished if a radical redevelopment plan is approved.

Residents on the Mandale estate, in Thornaby, have described the area as being like a forgotten war zone.

The plans to demolish 578 houses on the Mandale estate seem to have won almost universal approval from residents.

Councillors at Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council are due to make a decision on Thursday afternoon.

Something drastic has got to be done Alison Trainer, Mandale Residents Association

Many of the houses on the estate are unoccupied and boarded-up.

The estate was built originally as a "home for heroes" for Second World War soldiers.

Local Councillor Steve Walmsley said you now have to be a hero to live in them.

Mandale Residents Association chairman Alison Trainer backed his call for radical action.

She said: "Will you see the light please, because we need to see the light.

"We can't see any light at the end of the tunnel, surely they should be able to see it.

"Something drastic has got to be done."

If the plans are approved, between 500 and 600 new homes will eventually be built on the site.