Newcastle City Council had originally earmarked �11m to spend on improving housing on 350 estates.

But on Tuesday officials revealed they are to spend more than seven times that amount on upgrading more than 12,000 properties in the city.

The council is able to afford the extra investment after receiving a �64m government boost for earning two stars in an Audit Commission Inspection.

Improvements will include new kitchens, doors, roofs, brickwork and windows for thousands of properties.

The project will be overseen by Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) which manages 32,000 homes in the city.

Chief executive John Lee said: "We are delighted to have reached a stage where we now have the money so we can begin to roll out an investment programme to make a real difference for tenants.