A NORTH-EAST town is one of the best areas in the country for combating youth crime, according to a report.

Burglary and vehicle-crime by young people in Darlington has fallen 18 per cent since 2001.

The town's Youth Offending Service (YOS) has been ranked first with 26 other services by the Youth Justice Board (YJB).

YJB officials ranked all 154 youth offending services nationally and monitored the Darlington team's performance between April last year and March.

Margaret Asquith, of Darlington Borough Council, said: "The reduction in re-offending has been most significant in relation to work carried out with young people receiving reprimands and final warning interventions, that is those young people who have found themselves in trouble with the police for the first time.

"It should be noted that the re- offending rates for young people receiving community penalties or custody continues to be high at 94 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

"The YOS continues to reduce the number of young people who find themselves in these categories."

Ms Asquith will report on the team's success to councillors tomorrow.