ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour in Darlington is decreasing, according to new figures - although there are still more than 30 incidents a day.

Police have said the decrease marks a turning point in the town's campaign against unruly behaviour.

But councillors have warned more work is needed.

From January to June last year, there were 6,422 incidents of anti-social behaviour - more than 35 a day.

In the same period this year, there were 5,586 incidents - a 15 per cent decrease, although still just under 31 incidents a day.

Police class "anti-social behaviour" as anything from noisy dogs to misuse of fireworks, although "rowdy and nuisance behaviour" makes up the majority of complaints.

Sgt Paul Robinson, from Darlington police's community safety partnership, said the town's combined efforts were paying off.

"There's an increased number of beat officers, they are liaising better, and we are getting better information," he said.

"The council have a dedicated anti-social behaviour team who are very proactive. Add to that their uniformed wardens and we have an all-encompassing approach. We have hit a turning point. We are now seeing genuine reductions, but we will not let up."

Last year, police used ethical recording for the first time. It means reports are logged as "incidents" whether they are reported by victims or third parties, or whether they are crime-related or not.

Councillor Bill Dixon, Darlington Borough Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for community and public protection, welcomed the drop - but warned more needed to be done.

"We have reversed the trend, so while it's only gone down a bit, it's going down not up," he said. "The trend is going the right way.

"It's still far too many incidents, but it's important to remember one person's anti-social behaviour is another person's kids hanging around.

"We should also remember these incidents are not just youngsters. For example, I consider it extremely anti-social for some person to be selling a load of used cars by the side of the road."

Coun Doris Jones, chairwoman of the council's public protection and community partnerships scrutiny committee, said perceptions of crime, not figures, were important.

"Although we have a role to play, crime is really a police matter," she said. "We can look at figures all we want, but it's how people feel that's important. If people fear anti-social behaviour, it's no good telling them it's going down.

"In Middleton St George, we have a fantastic village policeman and PCSO, but they cover the whole rural area. When I first moved here the village had its own police station."