A team of police officers is being assembled in Darlington to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Four police constables and a sergeant are being recruited for the Street Safe unit.

The officers will work to reduce anti-social behaviour and the violence associated with night time drinking, and should be operational next month.

The unit will operate from Gladstone Street and last night Chris Reeves, a community inspector based in Darlington, said it was evident the police force was putting its promises into action.

He said: "The Street Safe unit will work with the Community Safety Partnership. Until now it has been run by temporary staff. It is a big investment, £150,000 in wages alone, and it shows we are committed to tackling anti-social behaviour."

The news comes as figures reveal the number of children assaulted in Darlington this year has increased by 16 per cent.

In the ten months since January, 179 under 18s have been assaulted - with injuries ranging from cuts, bruises and black eyes to more serious beatings. In the same period last year, the figure was 154 youngsters.

The figures mean about 18 children every month are the victims of assault in the town, most of them teenagers.

Inspector Brian Maudling, of Darlington Police, said youths causing disturbances was a big problem in the town, as it is across the country, but he does not think there is a problem with gangs.

He said: "I don't think it is a huge problem, the figures do not surprise me.

"However, youths causing annoyance is a big problem, sometimes we get 20 to 30 calls a night just about young people causing problems."

He said the fear of crime in the Durham Constabulary area was disproportionately high, compared to relatively low levels of actual crime and said groups of youths hanging around the streets contributed to this fear.

The Street Safe campaign was launched this year by Durham Police and has seen more high-visibility policing on the streets. The unit in Darlington is one of the ways the force is implementing it.