PEOPLE are being urged to attend a meeting on plans to tackle so-called yob culture in Durham City.

Residents will have the chance to hear about the police's county-wide StreetSafe campaign, launched by Prime Minister Tony Blair, which is aimed at issues such as teenage drinking, vandalism and graffiti.

The Police Community Consultative Group will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, June 15, at 7pm in Vane Tempest Hall, Gilesgate. Deputy Chief Constable Jon Stoddart will attend with beat bobbies and community safety officers.

Consultative committee chairman, Durham County councillor Peter Thompson, said: "We'll show the StreetSafe video and the deputy chief constable will field questions.We want to hear about why there is a perception that crime is on the increase when the opposite is true.

"We want to hear why, for example, people fear walking the streets so we can get to the nub of the problem and see how we can address it.

"Crime in County Durham is on the decrease, although we do get blips in certain areas where, say car crime goes up, but the perception among many people is that it is increasing."