LOTTERY money is to be used to tackle rural crime.

The Derwentside Rural Crime Initiative (DRCI) has been awarded almost £300,000 by the Big Lottery Fund.

The money, from the fund's Reaching Communities programme, will back a range of anti-crime initiatives over the next five years.

The Consett-based charity will work with communities to develop solutions tailored to local crime issues such as noise, anti-social behaviour and burglary.

They will also provide advice, link people to other sources of help and develop initiatives to prevent crime.

Duncan Barnett, DRCI's project manager, said: "Our five-year grant from the Big Lottery Fund will enable us to build on our excellent work over the past ten years, working in areas with high recorded crime levels, and communities where crime impacts upon the quality of life.

"The project will continue to harness local strengths, build the capacity of communities to tackle crime, provide community safety advice, develop diversionary activities, signpost and offer links to other agencies in the field of community safety.

"This grant will enable us to develop long-term strategies that will have a lasting impact in the communities in which we work."

In the past, DRCI has worked with residents to develop youth services in Dipton to address anti-social behaviour problems.

It created an information card that helps Derwentside residents identify people who pose as utility workers in order to gain entry and burgle homes.

Big Lottery Fund's head of the North-East region James Turner said: "The DRCI does a very important job identifying and tackling the causes of crime and fear of crime.

"Its work has proven the effectiveness of developing grassroots solutions to local issues.

"The Reaching Communities programme is all about backing locally-driven initiatives that build communities and help those most in need."

The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery's distributors of financing to good causes, has been presenting grants to health, education, environment and charity causes since June 2004.

The award to the DRCI is among six grants totalling £786,077 to projects across the North-East from the Reaching Communities programme