EAGLE-EYED council workers have been praised by police for helping to catch a burglar.

Ian Bowerbank and Dave Leonard, who work in the CCTV control room at Darlington Town Hall, were on duty last September when they were contacted by police about a house raid in the West End.

The suspect had escaped and officers across the town were on the look-out for him.

The CCTV staff were briefed about the incident and, shortly afterwards, they noticed a man on a bike fitting the description of the burglar.

Using information from Mr Bowerbank and Mr Leonard, who used the technology at their fingertips to track the burglar, police eventually caught him in the grounds of St Teresa's Hospice.

When he was stopped, the police found property from the burglary on the man and, when his house was searched, more stolen items were found.

Yesterday, Mr Bowerbank and Mr Leonard received Area Commander's commendations from Chief Superintendent Robin Trounson, of Durham Police.

Bill Dixon, Darlington Borough Council's cabinet member for public protection, said: "I am delighted that our CCTV staff were able to help the police in this way.

"The staff work very hard to help protect the people of Darlington and make the town a safer place. They should be very proud of these police commendations."