POLICE have asked for more help to patrol a Darlington estate.

Incidents of anti-social behaviour on Skerne Park have become so frequent, police say they need more manpower in the area.

Police Community Support Officer Carol Angus told a meeting of the Skerne Park Partnership the problem was too much for her and local beat officer PC Stacey Vials to deal with alone.

She said working with Darlington Borough Council's housing solicitor on tenancy agreements and speaking to parents and youngsters had helped, but more support was required.

"We are looking at other agencies to come on board, such as special sonstables and neighbourhood wardens. The kids soon work out your shift patterns and know which weekend you are off, so we want to put some cover on those weekends in particular," she said.

The meeting heard there were 28 incidents on the estate last weekend and a further 13 on Monday.

PC Angus said some residents had already begun to offer help.

She said: "We have had some good results and arrests from intelligence we have from the estate, and we are getting more calls from people reporting incidents.

"They seem to be willing to report incidents, which is a good thing, because they weren't doing that before. Residents are starting to stand up to people and say they have had enough."

However, she also described an incident when officers were pursuing a suspect while local youths cheered him on.

Sergeant Mark Ralphs confirmed Skerne Park can be a hot spot for anti-social behaviour and that the community policing team will be speaking to the Special Constabulary and neighbourhood wardens to tackle the problem.

He said: "We would like the specials to take part in high-visibility operations on Skerne Park if they can. I will also speak to the neighbourhood wardens about the issues so they are aware of the problems."