A NEW police-approved weapon is about to make life harder for burglars in one corner of County Durham.

Homes in Derwentside are to be the first in the region, and among the first in the country, to be fitted with new "burglar proof" windows and doors.

Derwentside District Council will fit the revolutionary windows in about 250 council-owned properties after taking advice from police.

As one "burglar" - in reality a member of the factory inspection team - demonstrated for several back-breaking hours as he tried to break a window with a mallet, it is almost impossible for a house-breaker to beat the technology.

The doors feature laminated security glass, multi-point locking and hinge bolts to strengthen them against attempts to force entry.

The letterbox has been designed to prevent burglars reaching in with a hook or line to snare car keys left in the hallway, a tactic used in recent months in the Durham and Northumbria force areas. The windows also have multi-point locking and hinge bolts.

A police spokesman said burglars rarely gain entry to a house by deliberately breaking glass, as this carries a greater risk of clothing fibres, or DNA evidence such as blood, being left at the scene.

If frames are made to withstand a sustained effort to force them there is no weak link to attack, he said.

Durham Police's architectural liaison officer, Andrew Duckworth, said: "Derwent-side council should be congratulated on becoming only the third authority nationwide to improve their properties to these tough, police-approved standards."

Leader of Derwentside council, Councillor Alex Watson, said: "The fear of crime is often a bigger worry than the actual crime and these new doors and windows will undoubtedly make our tenants' homes safer."