THE former head of Hartlepool CID has backed the Labour candidate in the town's by-election.

Ray Mallon, now the directly-elected mayor of Middlesbrough, endorsed Iain Wright during a visit to the constituency yesterday.

But Mr Mallon also talked of Liberal Democrat candidate Jody Dunn as someone with a good future in politics.

The independent mayor said he was not supporting the Labour Party, but was backing Mr Wright because he considered him the best person to replace Brussels-bound Peter Mandelson.

On his visit to Hartlepool yesterday, the pioneer of zero tolerance policing was shocked at the state of parts of the town centre.

He saw boarded-up houses and litter-strewn pavements in Thornton Street, but refused to blame Labour for the problem.

"That is one street that is just decaying," said Mr Mallon. "The council should be picking the litter up, but remember, it is the public who put it down."

Mr Wright said he was delighted with the endorsement from a man he described as something of a legend for what he achieved as a detective chief inspector in the town in the mid-1990s - when he reduced crime by 35 per cent.