A GROUP of farmers have mounted their first nighttime undercover operation to crack down on rural crime.

The operation, run in conjunction with Darlington police, took place in the early hours of the morning on Friday and involved a team of the town's farmers and police, with back-up available from the dog section and a spotter plane.

It was organised by Darlington Rural Watch (DRW), a crime prevention group set up to tackle problems such as thefts from farms and poaching.

Farmers operating in groups took up surveillance positions in the countryside around the town and noted down details of suspicious vehicles and people, and also patrolled the area and checked on farms and villages.

DRW chairman Brian Pavey, a Darlington gamekeeper, said: "Although there had been patrols before, this was the most high-tech that we had done and the first one with such heavy police involvement.

"We were looking for poachers and any illegal activities.

"These are covert operations and will be staged on a regular basis with all details of where and when we will be out kept close to our chests."

DRW co-ordinator Derek Hill, a farmer, said that since the group's formation, communication had improved between farmers and other people living in rural areas, and with the police.

He said: "It has been working better. We are getting more police support, they are reacting quicker and showing more interest in what we are doing.

"We feel that the use of closed circuit television cameras in the town is moving crime into the rural area and something like these operations had to come.

"The information we are gathering, particularly on car registration numbers, is providing police with useful intelligence about who is committing crime in the town as well."

Darlington community safety officer PC Clare Addison said: "We will be running these operations on a regular basis. These will be intelligence-led patrols and they are helping us build up useful information. This will keep the criminals on their toes."