A VILLAGE blighted by antisocial behaviour is fighting back.

Residents in West Auckland, in County Durham, say they have had enough after rising concerns about yobs causing havoc in their village.

In recent months locals say they have been subjected to a spate of incidents, including seeing a local bus shelter trashed five times, bin fires, nuisance with laughing gas canisters and more.

Villagers have also had to contend with stray horses running loose across the village green.

READ MORE: Dozens of stray horses wreak havoc in West Auckland

But now, they say they are fighting back and they invited the new Durham Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen to the area to hear about their concerns first hand.

Mrs Allen met with locals last Thursday and pledged to help tackle the issues together by adopting a 'problem solving approach' to the issues.

The Northern Echo: The meeting followed antisocial behaviour in West Auckland

She said: “I’m really impressed to see what the councillors, residents, voluntary groups and partners have achieved in such a short space of time.

“We all agree community intelligence is vitally important and everyone is committed to reporting non-emergency incidents either to the police on 101 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800555111.

“This will enable us to build an accurate picture of what is happening in the village. Good data also enables us to allocate our resources more efficiently and effectively.

“I look forward to revisiting the village again over the coming months to see how their plans are developing.”

The Northern Echo:

Councillor Rob Yorke said installing CCTV cameras in the village had already helped lead to a reduction in crime.

He said: “We’d like to thank our PCC for all her help and support over the last few months to help reduce the number issues we were facing. Since introducing a CCTV camera back in April we have seen the number of reported issues for littering reduced to a minimum.

"The village in bloom group have also said they haven’t seen any nitrous oxide canisters around the green which was a problem. Key partner agencies continue to work with residents to alleviate all incidents reported, this is a great example of partnership working."

Many of the issues in the village centre around East Green Car Park as well as the perennial problems with stray horses.

Earlier this year the issue came to a head when more than two dozen horses escaped from a field and galloped through Selby Close and onto the green.

Mrs Allen is due to meet with locals again in the coming months.