CRIME and safety teams will join forces with residents and community leaders to clean up trouble hotspots.

The two-week operation, in West Cornforth, will be latest Streetsafe initiative led by the Sedgefield Community Safety Partnership.

The project will focus on tackling anti-social behaviour, crime and environmental issues and improving relationships between different parts of the community.

On Wednesday, residents are invited to join partnership members on a walking tour of the village to identify problems that need tackling.

Throughout the fortnight of positive action, there will be clean-up operations, including extra collections of refuge and unwanted household goods, and graffiti removal.

Officers will talk to pupils at West Cornforth Primary School and residents of Thurstan Grange sheltered housing to create greater awareness of good citizenship and improve relationships between the generations.

There will also be a football match between young villagers and partnership workers, at Cornforth Community Centre on Thursday, at 4.30pm.

Diane Maughan, anti-social behaviour reduction co-ordinator, said: "We want to find any problems that need addressing to make the environment a nicer one to live in." To join the village tour, meet at Cornforth House, on Wednesday, at 10am.