RESIDENTS on a Darlington estate are calling for the closure of "rat runs" used by anti-social youths.

People living on Lascelles Park say the alleyways, which run behind homes, are used by youngsters to escape after they have committed acts of vandalism or abuse.

A meeting of the estate's residents' association on Wednesday evening heard that the worst problem was teenagers smashing windows and then running away.

Lascelles ward councillor Wendy Newall will today conduct a survey about the alleyways with aggrieved residents.

She said: "There are some problems with anti-social behaviour.

"One of the issues is with what they call 'rat runs' on the estate.

"We are going to start a sub-group of the residents' association to look into that.

"We are going to go on a walkabout to identify where we want to target. We are going to have to prioritise on this issue."

She also encouraged residents to report incidents involving anti-social behaviour to her.

"As far as information getting back to me is concerned, very little has happened on this estate," she said.

"We are going to have to encourage people to report incidents.

"If we want rat runs closed, we have got to have a body of evidence and information.

"Report any incidents. Get your neighbours to report any incidents."

PC Neil Walton, of Darlington police, said plain-clothed officers were being deployed on the estate to try to catch anti-social youths.

"We have been quite quiet for a while and it's picked up a little bit so they are picking up on it before it gets out of hand," he said.

"If we can jump on it now we might put a stop to it."

A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman told The Northern Echo: "The usual process should somebody want to close a 'rat run' or alleyway is to submit a planning application.

"There would need to be a change of use approved from public to private."

She added that council officers would work with Durham Police's architectural liaison officer to assess whether the alleyways were being misused.