A CRACKDOWN on neighbourhood nuisances in an east Durham village has been hailed a success.

And residents and landlords on Easington's Wembley Estate are being reassured that the recent five-day blitz on bad behaviour is part of an ongoing campaign.

Easington District Council launched the Help Make Wembley Clean scheme last year to encourage people to become involved in ridding the area of environmental problems and anti-social behaviour.

The latest stage of the campaign has seen intensive action involving the police, Pride in Easington officers, community groups, youth workers and members of the community joining forces to tackle problems including fly-tipping to graffiti.

Representative for the Easington Colliery ward Councillor Alan Burnip said: "This latest stage of the campaign has gone very well, getting a particularly good response from the children and young people of the area.

"The scheme has definitely been worthwhile so far, but we are still interested in doing more to improve the area.

"We know there are some long-term problems, but this is a long-term campaign.''

During the five-day project, residents were encouraged to tidy their yards and gardens and nine skips were filled with waste.

Environmental Services Manager Ian Hoult said: "We would like to thank everyone who has lent their support to the scheme.

"However, we would like to remind them this is an ongoing campaign and people still need to take an active part by reporting anti-social behaviour, helping to tackle environmental crime and taking pride in their area.''