FARMERS in the Darlington area have revealed a new weapon to combat crime.
Darlington Rural Watch (DRW) has started using a rapid texting system, the Midentity system, which allows information about suspicious behaviour, including that supplied by the police, to be flashed to watch members in a seventh of a second.
Darlington Rural Watch was created to help farmers and other members of the rural community combat poaching, trespass, theft and drug-taking.
Watch chairman Brian Pavey said: "The moment we hear about anything suspicious, we can send it immediately to other DRW members. If we hear about it today everyone knows about it today."
Group members are already in regular contact with each other, meet with police officers to swap information, and mount patrols with police officers to gather intelligence on criminal behaviour.
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