POLICE patrol cars in a part of the North-East are to be fitted with black box recorders similar to those used in aircraft.

The electronic recorders, which cost a little over £300 each, record detailed information about a car's speed, direction of travel and skidding, in the seconds leading up to an accident.

The systems, which cannot be switched off, tampered with or disconnected, also log the condition of the car's brakes, lights and sirens to allow officers to accurately reconstruct the moments leading up to a crash.

In an extension to a pilot scheme announced last year, 18 patrol cars operating in Chester-le-Street and Durham are to be fitted with the gadgets.

The recorders will also be installed in 30 cars used by the road policing unit, based at Durham Police's headquarters at Aykley Heads, Durham City, and operating across the county.

Black box recorders were first installed in the force's vehicles last November, when they were fitted in nine patrol cars in Darlington, as part of a pilot programme.

During the first five months of the trial, the cars were involved in only 11 accidents - one less than the average for the previous four years.

Force managers were anxious to extend the size of the pilot study before making a decision on whether to commit more than £60,000 to install recorders in all the force's 200 marked vehicles, as well as unmarked cars.

The enlarged trial will cost the force an extra £15,000 to buy the equipment, but an in-house team of mechanics will handle the installation.