AN MP has welcomed extra resources for a police communications centre.

Hilary Armstrong, MP for north-west Durham, was speaking after visiting Durham Police's northern communications centre at Aykley Heads, Durham, following complaints about the service being offered by the new centralised system.

The communication centre - and a second in Bishop Auckland - were established last year to replace 15 separate telephone numbers for police stations across County Durham and Darlington with single system, backed by a £3.2m digital radio network.

She said: "There were clearly teething problems with the system at the beginning and quite a large number of constituents contacted me regarding their concerns.

"People want a fast response from police and there was a great deal of frustration that they couldn't get straight through to their local station."

"However, I'm reassured that Durham Constabulary is now putting in extra resources and more trained staff into the new communications centre and that the level of service is being improved."