SECURITY is to be stepped up at a North-East cemetery after youths were spotted taking drugs and urinating on graves.

A community safety meeting in Firthmoor, Darlington, was told that groups of teenagers were using the nearby cemetery to drink alcohol and take drugs.

Uniformed warden Becky Heseltine said residents, whose homes back on to the cemetery, had reported gravestones being smashed and urinated upon.

"There has been some damage to the fencing and quite substantial damage to trees," she said.

Mrs Heseltine has been using a new "hat-cam" device to film youths causing trouble in the cemetery and elsewhere on the estate.

A tiny video camera is attached to hats worn by community wardens and used to collect evidence of anti-social behaviour.

"I have got two hours of footage and it's good stuff," she said.

"I'm talking about four or five different groups of youths all coming and congregating, drinking and shouting and wrecking the cemetery."

The footage will be handed to police beat officer PC Chris Horner to see if the youths involved can be identified and arrested.

Meeting chairman Bill Cook said: "I know from talking to residents that they are sick to death of it."

Mrs Heseltine said: "We are doing special patrols to try to stop it and members of the public have been ringing up to say thank you. "

A Darlington Borough Council spokesman said patrols would be increased in and around the cemetery to try to curb the problem.