WORK has started on a secure lorry compound to cut diesel thefts in Hartlepool.

Parksafe is being built off the A689, to provide a safe haven for up to 45 articulated lorries on the Longhill Industrial Estate.

At present, drivers have to park on open areas leaving them vulnerable to fuel thieves.

Some companies threatened to leave the town as they claimed they were losing as much as £20,000 worth of diesel a year.

Visiting lorries were also targeted while parked overnight in laybys outside Hartlepool.

PC Eddie Lincoln, a community officer at Hartlepool's Church Street office, together with local businesses and Jill Brown, from Safe in Tees Valley, have made Parksafe possible.

PC Lincoln said: "This scheme has come about because of the willingness of the Longhill business community to provide a safe environment for lorry drivers and their vehicles, and our determination to reduce the opportunities for this type of crime."

In one period last summer, the number of reported diesel thefts rose to 18 from an average of about four a month.

Parksafe will have a closed-circuit television system, 8ft fences and gates.

Regular users will only pay £1.50 a night towards the running costs of the non-profit making business, which is expected to be open on June 1.