FOUR people were arrested after armed police were called to Barnard Castle tonight.

The four - two men and two women - were held on suspicion of discharging a weapon from the back of a car near Barningham, close to the County Durham border with North Yorkshire.

A gamekeeper from the nearby Scargill estate, who was taking part in a Farmwatch operation, raised the alarm and the car in which the suspects were travelling was spotted in Barnard Castle and stopped at the service station on the junction of the A67 and A688.

An armed response unit from Spennymoor was despached to the incident which happened at about 9.30pm.

Inspector Ed Turner said the suspects were taken to Bishop Auckland police station where they will be questioned tomorrow.

"They had been seen at Stangfoot, near Barningham," said Insp Turner.

"Earlier, the gamekeeper had been concerned about the activities and rang it in to the police."

The incident happened during the largest Farmwatch operation ever mounted across the north of England.

It involved more than 100 police officers and PCSOs from six forces - Durham, North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Cleveland, Northumbria and Lancashire - and some 220 volunteers including farmers, gamekeepers and water bailiffs.

Superintendent Kerrin Smith, of Durham Police's neighbourhood and partnership command, said the incident in Barnard Castle highlighted a relationship between the force and the community that was "second to none".

She added: "Sometimes, rural communities can feel neglected. Operations such as this are essential so they know we are on board with them."

The Farmwatch scheme in Teesdale and Weardale was launched in 1989 - the first in the country - in response to a rise in rural crime.

As well as being adopted in other areas of the country, the Teesdale and Weardale scheme now boasts more than 850 members.

Founder member Peter Stubbs, who took part in last night's operation, said: "It is just as relevant and important now as when we started it with 20 farmers 24 years ago."

*For a full report on the Farmwatch operation, see The Northern Echo on Thursday.