RESIDENTS of a Darlington estate feel safer thanks to the introduction of community wardens, a report has found.

But people in Firthmoor would still like to see more police in their neighbourhood, according to Martin Wood, from Renaissance Consultants.

Mr Wood has carried out a survey of how life in Firthmoor has changed in the past four years.

He presented some of his findings to Firthmoor Community Partnership Board on Monday.

He said: "People felt extremely safe during the day.

"Fifty-seven per cent said they felt much safer because of their knowledge of the uniformed warden service.

"Only 13.5 per cent of respondents felt fear of crime had gone up at all. Only 6.5 per cent of those felt it had gone up a lot.

"That's a very positive response in terms of people's perceptions."

But he added: "At least half of respondents were dissatisfied with the police presence."

The meeting heard that wardens carried out 70 hours of foot patrols in the Firthmoor estate during September.

The wardens dealt with incidents ranging from motorbike thefts and anti-social behaviour to harassment and noise nuisance.

Mr Wood said the number of burglaries in the Eastbourne ward, which includes Firthmoor, had dropped by almost 40 per cent, but criminal damage was on the increase.

Inspector Sue Collingwood, from Darlington Community Safety Partnership, said that Firthmoor had a dedicated beat officer.

"If the beat officer is dealing with issues on the estate, taking statements, arresting people and so on, then he will be less visible," she said.

"If there are any issues, I would hope that people are reporting it to us, and then the beat officer can deal with that."