WHEN Tony Kent became a village bobby, he was told by teenagers that they had nothing to do, so he set about launching a cafe for them.

And now, after only a few months, it has resulted in a drop in crime and anti-social behaviour among the young people of Cockfield, near Barnard Castle.

PC Kent was awarded £5,000 from a Durham Police Authority fund and then enlisted the help of the Reverend Jane Grieve, the vicar of Cockfield, to get the project under way.

The One Way Cafe is now open two nights a week in the village's Lipscombe Hall.

About 30 teenagers play pool, table football and computer games, listen to music sessions with a DJ, watch a plasma TV and enjoy refreshments.

PC Kent said yesterday: "The behaviour of the young folk has certainly improved. They now have something to focus on. They have a sense of ownership of the cafe and really like using it.

"Before it started, many of them just hung around at night trying to make their own entertainment.

"That led some of them to get up to mischief and cause problems for other residents. Their whole outlook is now much better."

He paid tribute to Ms Grieve for backing the idea and spending a lot of time helping to run the cafe.

He said: "She has done an absolutely brilliant job and a lot of the success is down to her.

Ms Grieve said: "Tony has a great rapport with the young ones.

"They look on him as a helpful friend, but know that if they step out of line, he will deal with them.

"Their general standard of behaviour has certainly improved since he arrived and got the cafe started. It has made a difference to a lot of young lives."

She also praised volunteers Sarah Proud, Natasha Bowes, Natalie Brown and Brian Baldwin, as well as a missionary from Uganda, Grace Aciro, who helps in the cafe.

Teresa Kirmond, of the Co-op Society, which has a store in the village, handed over £495 yesterday to buy a music deck and speakers for the cafe. She said: "We like what is being done here and are glad to help."

The hall, a former school, is used for other activities at other times of the week, but there are hopes that the cafe will expand into more evenings.