A COUNCIL chief has criticised plans to overhaul policing in County Durham.

Barry Keel, chief executive of Darlington Borough Council, says Durham Constabulary's proposals for reducing the number of divisions in the force from six to two, are "flawed".

The proposals are revealed in a review of the force's structure to be presented to the council on Tuesday.

Other authorities in the county will be consulted about the report, which proposes creating a north division with its headquarters in Chester-le-Street and a south division based in Darlington.

The north division would merge the Derwentside, Easington and Chester-le-Street and Durham divisions.

The south would join the Darlington, Sedgefield and Wear and Tees divisions.

Mr Keel said he believed the report would not achieve the delivery of good policing for Darlington.

"What relationship does Darlington have with communities on the Cumbrian border?"

A spokesman for Durham Constabulary denied the restructuring was a cost-cutting exercise or that it would affect "front line" policing.

"There are no plans to spread the thin blue line more thinly. It is a plan designed to get the best from what we have.

"The restructure would mean no redundancies and no less bobbies on the beat."

Changes would include halving the number of chief superintendents to six, through "natural wastage".

If authorities are against the preferred plan, the force has a "fallback" option with three divisions, in the east, north and south.