TOWN hall officials have won honours in their attempts to thwart identity thieves.
Judges have praised Middlesbrough Council's scheme to sell more than 1,000 cut-price shredders to people living in areas at risk.
Identity thieves open bin bags looking for discarded personal documents and financial statements to help them gain access to people's bank accounts.
The council has been given a silver award in the annual Green Apple awards, which are run by the Environment Agency.
Councillor Barry Coppinger said: "We knew that the best way to beat the ID thieves who rummage around and slash bin bags looking for people's personal details was to stop making it worth their effort."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article