A POLICE operation to reduce anti-social behaviour has been hailed a success.

Operation Jedi ran for four weeks in Ferryhill and Chilton, involving more than 300 hours of high-visibility policing and 180 hours of mobile patrols.

Sergeant Kelvin Vincent said the results of the operation had been analysed and showed a 60 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour over the four-week period.

He said: "It was an intensive, highly visible police operation by uniformed officers throughout the area to give the public reassurance.

"I'm very pleased with the results. It has proved very worthwhile and the officers who have been out there have proved effective.

"They have succeeded in bringing a lot of anti-social behaviour back down to a lot more acceptable levels."

The operation in Ferryhill was concentrated in the Castle estate area, which has experienced a lot of problems with youngsters hanging around street corners.

But the whole of Chilton was covered because officers were unable to narrow the problems down to one particular area.

One trend which the operation recorded was the tendency for youngsters to migrate between the two towns.

Sgt Vincent said: "We identified that there were youngsters from Ferryhill causing problems in the Chilton area.

"Similarly, we had one or two Chilton youngsters in Ferryhill, so the kids were commuting between the two towns and getting caught at both ends by the anti-social behaviour team."

Sgt Vincent said he hoped the operation had helped reduce the problems, but said he would try to mount another one if the figures increased.

He said: "The operation was certainly a success and we will be looking towards addressing any incidents very quickly in relation to youths causing a nuisance."