COMPLAINING to a council has been made easier thanks to new technology.

Wear Valley District Council has set up a Standpoint touch-screen service in the reception area of its offices in Crook. It is similar to equipment used by London Underground to monitor complaints. The machine feeds information to customer care officer Dorothy Emerson, who contacts the relevant department. She said: "This saves us time when it comes to compiling the information, which means we have more time to deal with the complaint and get to the root of the problem."