THE Government announced a £500,000 boost last night to help the region's shopkeepers fight crime.

The cash, targeted at small shops and run-down inner city shopping areas, will fund projects tackling crime and vandalism.

Dozens of shop owners in the region benefited from a first round of funding last year, under a £15m scheme announced by Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Last year, £34,000 went to pay for security fencing and lighting for shops in Stockton, Teesside.

Funding also helped to pay for a drop-in centre for youngsters in Stockton's Redhill Road area to dissuade them from anti-social behaviour.

Middlesbrough and Redcar won just under £80,000 in total for security cameras and measures to boost shop security.

This year's allocation will be made available to 23 councils, with schemes receiving between £9,000 and £35,000 each.

The allocation is double the amount provided by the Home Office last year, with the winners due to be announced later this week.

Home Office Minister John Denham, who has overall responsibility for crime reduction, said: "Local shops are at the heart of our communities and when they close valuable local services are lost."

Alan Brown, regional crime reduction director for the North-East, said: "This gives us double the opportunity to help small retailers stop crime from putting them out of business.

"Seven local authority crime reduction partnerships benefited from last year's allocations.

"They instigated an innovative range of measures, including a mobile closed-circuit television unit in South Tyneside, a drop-in centre in Stockton, building security work and environmental improvements in Gateshead and a radio security scheme in Sunderland."

A total of £1.3m also goes to help fight retail crime in Yorkshire and Humberside, with proposed projects in areas such as Scarborough set to benefit