PARTS of Darlington are like war zones with people afraid to venture out.

This was the claim of the borough council's Conservative group leader, Tony Richmond, in the wake of a special meeting between Durham chief constable Paul Garvin and local councillors.

Coun Richmond said some residents dared not even go to the corner shop.

"That is a terrible indictment on a modern society," he said.

Coun Richmond said Mr Garvin had not fully addressed the issue of anti-social behaviour at Tuesday's special session.

"He did not say enough about this, even though there is a real problem and the public has lost faith in the police force's ability to tackle it," he said.

Fellow councillor Charles Johnson called for Darlington to have its own uniformed police division to boost presence on the streets.

Coun Richmond said he wanted to see Mr Garvin produce a clearly defined set of objectives as to how police were going to tackle anti-social behaviour.