FOUR years ago, the residents of three North-East town streets were plagued with crime, neglect and vandalism.

They lived in fear that their homes, in Hartlepool, would be demolished - until they decided that they could change things.

Now, the area has been transformed and the volunteers behind the work are the latest entries in The Northern Echo's community environmental competition, Making a Difference.

Houses in Furness, Cameron and Belk streets were selling at auction for as little as £8,000 and redevelopment was a serious possibility for the area when the residents formed a residents, association.

Since then, Furness Cameron and Belk Residents' Association has so improved the streets that houses sell for between £40,000 and £50,000.

Secretary Julie Hetherington said some houses had been in need of repair and were occupied by some unsuitable tenants.

She said: "We tried to get the landlords to work with us at first. Eventually, we did get somewhere with them but it took us a long time."

It took the combined efforts of the residents and then MP Peter Mandleson to come up with a pilot scheme for landlords, encouraging them to be good neighbours.

Among the improvements the residents sought was an end to landlords putting up unsightly shutters as soon as a property became empty.

Miss Hetherington said they had even gone in and put up curtains to make empty houses look as if they were occupied.

With help from the borough council and Neighbourhood Watch, the association installed gates across a back alley, put security spikes on walls, improved street lighting, removed graffiti, had the road resurfaced, tackled fly-tipping on nearby land.

They also created Tot's Garden - a community garden on former wasteland at the junction of Raby Road and Middleton Road.

Tackling dog fouling, car parking and finding tenants for vacant homes are a few of the other projects.

Avril Whealey, another member, said: "We now feel secure in our homes."

Resident, Wilf Grylls, who walks around the area every day to pick up on any damage which has occurred overnight, said: "What we are doing is about respect. Respect commands respect."