POLICE have hailed a significant drop in the level of crime in Darlington - while admitting that anti-social behaviour is on the increase in the town.

Crime in Darlington fell by more than 11 per cent last year - including a 42 per cent drop in thefts from motor vehicles and 30 per cent fall in theft of motor vehicles.

Yesterday, the police put this success down to a mixture of covert operations, public awareness campaigns and partnership working.

Chief Inspector Graham Hall, of Darlington police, thanked the public for their help, but said there was no room for complacency.

There were 9,868 crimes in the town in the 12 months to April last year - a reduction of 11.3 per cent on the previous year and the most significant improvement for years. Violent crimes decreased by three per cent.

But police and Darlington Borough Council have vowed to keep fighting the problem of anti-social behaviour.

In the past 12 months, there were more than 9,500 reports of anti-social behaviour in the town - an increase of more than 20 per cent on the previous year. About half of the incidents involved young people.

In February, Darlington police launched a team of officers dedicated to tackling the problem of youth anti-social behaviour.

The StreetSafe team has enjoyed some success and the increase in anti-social behaviour has slowed since the beginning of the year.

Chief Insp Hall said: "The crime figures are encouraging and reflect the hard work that the various agencies have invested. They also reflect the support we receive from the public.

"But, there is no room for complacency and we aim to maintain the level and drive crime down even further."

Sergeant Paul Robinson, of Darlington police community safety unit, said: "Crime in Darlington, and therefore the chance of becoming a victim, is at its lowest level for many years, but the fear of crime is still high."

Councillor John Williams, leader of Darlington Borough Council, said the downward trend was encouraging.

"It is clear evidence that the work done by the police, the Darlington Community Safety Partnership and other agencies to reduce crime is having a real effect.

"The rise in the level of anti-social behaviour is a real concern and it something that the community safety partnership is tackling as the highest priority," he said.