DETECTIVES investigating the Dreamspace disaster, in which two people died when an inflatable sculpture became airborne in a North-East park, have charged artist Maurice Agis with manslaughter.

The 76-year-old artist was charged with gross negligence manslaughter arising out of the tragedy at Riverside Park, Chester-le-Street, in July 2006 which also left 27 people injured.

Mr Agis, who was charged this afternoon as he answered police bail at Charing Cross police station, in London, will also face a charge under the Health and Safety At Work Act.

Chester-le-Street District Council, Liverpool-based promotions company Brouhaha International and the council's director of development services Tony Galloway have also been charged with breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

All have been summonsed to appear before Peterlee Magistrates' Court on February 26.

The disaster claimed the life of 38-year-old mother-of-two Claire Furmedge, from Chester-le-Street, and retired clerk Elizabeth Anne Collings, 68, from Seaham.

Among the most seriously injured was three-year-old Rosie Wright, from Langley Park, who has battled back to health after suffering horrific injuries when she was thrown from the walk-in structure, along with 23-year-old Gemma Nadolski, from Durham City.

A spokesman for Durham Police said yesterday: "These proceedings follow a lengthy investigation by Durham Constabulary and the Health and Safety Executive. The Crown Prosecution Service special crime division has been advising the police and the HSE during the investigation.

"The families of those killed and the people injured have been informed of today's developments."

A spokesman for Chester-le-Street District Council said: "The council has co-operated fully with both the HSE and police investigations.

"We are not in a position to make any further comment on the Health and Safety Executive conclusions at this stage."

The charges follow a 19-month probe, described last year by Detective Superintendent Neil Malkin as one of the most complex inquiries he had ever dealt with.

During the investigation, a team of up to 30 officers spoke to more than 700 people and took 200 statements, travelling as far as Liverpool and Glasgow as part of the inquiry.

Mr Agis was initially arrested in November 2006 - four months after the tragedy - and released on police bail.

Around 30 people were inside Dreamspace when it became airborne and rose 30ft into the air, coming to a halt only when it became snagged on a CCTV pole, just yards from the River Wear.

The sculpture, which measured 50-metres by 50-metres, was made up of more than 150 multi-coloured PVC sheets and allowed visitors to walk through the labyrinth of tunnels inside.

The accident happened on the second day of a scheduled nine-day stop in Chester-le-Street, part of an Arts Council-funded UK tour.

The tour marked the 10th anniversary of Dreamspace, initially created in 1996 as part of Copenhagen's year as European City of Culture. The piece which ended in disaster was the fifth incarnation of Dreamspace - considered to be his most ambitious project to date, which had previously been exhibited in Liverpool prior to its arrival in County Durham.

Mr Agis, a London-born graduate of St Martin's School of Art, in London and former teacher at Goldsmith College of Art, has developed an international reputation over the last 40 years as an acclaimed abstract artist.

He was present in the park on the day of the disaster and witnesses reported having seen him desperately trying to hold on to the guide ropes as the installation took to the air.

He could not be contacted for comment today but supporters had previously said he had been left "devastated" by the events of July 2006.