THE West Middlesbrough Community Caretakers have moved to new premises in an attempt to offer a better service for residents.

The £2.9m scheme, funded by the West Middlesbrough New Deal for Communities (NDC) Partnership, is designed to cut crime and the fear of crime in West Middlesbrough.

The caretakers act as the "eyes and ears" of the community, patrolling the area daily and performing hands-on community safety work.

They call to check on vulnerable people and monitor empty properties in the area.

They also monitor the cleanliness and tidiness of the area, looking for signs of vandalism, nuisance and anti-social behaviour, such as graffiti, broken windows, litter and abandoned vehicles.

Colin Penfold, community safety manager for the NDC, said: "This project built on the strengths of the previous neighbourhood wardens and street caretakers to provide these super caretakers with a high profile, uniformed presence in all parts of the NDC area.

"The beauty of this scheme is its immediacy - moving to Cannon Park means the caretakers now have a larger, permanent base to operate from, so demand for their services can be met quickly and efficiently."

For more information on the community caretakers contact (01642) 249400.