RESIDENTS of a Teesside town are much more afraid of crime than the national average, yet are less likely to report it than those living elsewhere.

A Voiceover Citizen's Panel survey by Middlesbrough Borough Council, involving 769 residents of all ages and backgrounds, showed that they had significantly greater fear for their safety than British people as a whole.

Twice as many Middlesbrough residents feared attack while in their neighbourhood after dark than the 32 percentage shown in last years's British Crime Survey.

While nine per cent of people in the national survey said they felt either very unsafe or a little unsafe when home alone at night, the figure for Middlesbrough was 40 per cent.

Overall, only 36 per cent of the Teesside respondents said they lived in a safe or very safe neighbourhood. The largest group of those fearing attack or assault was ethnic minorities, of whom 51 per cent admitted to such fears.

The panel members were asked if they had been a victim of crime during the past 12 months and if so, whether they had reported it. Almost half of those who had been victims said they did not report it because they perceived the offence too trivial and thought the police would not be interested.

When asked to give their opinion on the main cause of crime and anti-social behaviour in Middlesbrough, the highest proportion, of almost a third, named drugs. Eighty-three per cent said the way to tackle crime was by having more police on the beat.

The findings will be used with crime figures to inform the next three-year crime disorder strategy for the council and the police.