ALMOST half of residents who responded to a survey on crime and anti-social behaviour said they feel unsafe walking in built-up areas at night in a rural part of County Durham.

A postal survey, carried out by Wear and Tees Community Safety Partnership, received 649 responses from people in the Teesdale area.

Eleven per cent of those said they felt very unsafe walking in Teesdale's main population centres, 36 per cent said they felt unsafe, while 45 per cent of respondents said they felt safe.

Young people hanging about on streets was identified as a 'fairly big' or 'big' problem by 34 per cent of respondents. But 41 per cent said it was not a big problem.

Main public nuisances that residents were fairly or very worried about were speeding vehicles (54 per cent), burglary (50 per cent) and drunkenness (39 per cent).

Commenting on the survey, Sergeant Ed Turner of Barnard Castle police, said: "The communities of Teesdale do not need to feel unsafe. It has very low crime, with the current levels at just 52 per 1,000 head of population."