CAR crime in Darlington town centre has fallen to a record low level - to the delight of community safety chiefs.

Figures released this week show that there was only one offence committed in town centre car parks throughout January.

Officials at Darlington Borough Council, which provides closed-circuit television (CCTV) coverage of several areas, are delighted with the progress made after substantial investment in reducing crime.

The system's high-tech cameras provide 24-hour coverage of the town centre car parks and pictures are relayed to the town hall, to be monitored by closed-circuit television control room staff.

The cameras transmit full colour pictures and have the capacity to zoom, pan and tilt.

The total investment in the scheme to date is £1.5m, with 91 cameras operational.

The system was installed in 1994 at a cost of £750,000 and, in that year, 374 incidents of car thefts or thefts from cars were recorded.

Since then, the figures have fallen dramatically, with only 31 incidents occurring last year, despite additional car parks at St Hilda's and the cattle market being added to the system.

Council leader Councillor John Williams said: "The success of the council's CCTV system in almost wiping out car park crime in Darlington is well-documented.

"The important thing for all of those people who use the town's car parks is that the people who monitor the system are maintaining that success and are continuing to keep the car parks safe."

More than 3,000 criminals have been arrested with the help of Darlington's town centre CCTV since it was installed.

The final phase of a scheme, to expand coverage across the town, was completed late last year, when more cameras were installed to cover the Stanhope Road and High Northgate areas.