MEASURES to crack down on County Durham and Darlington's "yob culture" and reduce the fear of crime have been hailed a success by police.

Twelve months after Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the StreetSafe initiative, County Durham and Darlington remain among the safest places in the UK to live and work.

With record numbers of frontline police now on the streets, the biggest reductions in crime were reported in Darlington, where overall figures were down by 11 per cent, in Peterlee by four per cent, and in Durham City by more than two per cent.

More than 1,500 projects and operations have been carried out under the StreetSafe banner, many targeting drug dealers, car thieves, petty crooks and persistent trouble-makers, with others concentrating on issues such as graffiti, abandoned vehicles, off-road bikes and fly-tipping.

In Darlington, officers have worked with the DVLA to target untaxed vehicles.

Patrols were increased in Hurworth and several well-known trouble-makers were given Anti Social Behaviour Orders.

Regular meetings were held with local councillors to identify environmental issues such as litter, graffiti and abandoned cars.

Special constables joined regular officers on covert operations in Middleton St George to identify offenders who tormented an elderly couple.

A major success was the Westside project linking police, schools, council staff and voluntary organisations in a move to open up leisure services and divert young people away from anti-social activities.

Durham's assistant chief constable Gary Barnett pledged more would be done over the next year to tackle local problems and raise the quality of people's lives.

He said: "StreetSafe has been an enormous success in so many ways and we have had a very positive response from local people to what has been achieved.

"The police and all the other organisations, which have helped make the difference so far, are fully determined to take this even further.

"A year on from StreetSafe's launch, public reassurance is an even more important issue for the force."