CRIME in a town centre park has been slashed thanks to closed-circuit television (cctv) cameras installed by Darlington Borough Council.

The six cameras were installed in Stanhope Park, in Darlington, last July, at a cost of £136,000.

They provide 24-hour coverage of the Stanhope Park, College and Duke Street areas of the town, with live pictures relayed to the town hall CCTV control room, where they are monitored.

Figures released this week show that in the three months from April to June last year, there were 46 crimes reported in the area.

But in the six months from July, only 50 crimes were reported.

Stephen Harker, the council's cabinet member for community protection, said: "These figures confirm the impact we believe CCTV would have on crime in this area.

"We know that this part of the town was having a particular problem with street crime, so it is pleasing to see the cameras already making a substantial improvement."

The cameras had already been credited with reducing drug use in the park after the Friends of Stanhope Park reported gangs of youths had left once cameras were installed.

A spokeswoman for the group said: "The difference is incredible. There has been a lot of drug misuse going on and they do it openly. It can be quite intimidating. These youngsters have just moved away."

CCTV cameras were introduced in Darlington in 1994 and since then more than £1.5m has been invested in the system.

There are more than 90 cameras in the town, which have helped the police to make more than 3,000 arrests.

All the cameras are linked to the CCTV control room, which operates around the clock receiving full colour pictures from the cameras.