A COUNCIL leader has called for an urgent meeting with police chiefs after officers failed to respond when youths bombarded a sheltered housing complex with stones.

John Williams, leader of Darlington Borough Council, last night branded the police response to the "alarming" incident as "lamentable".

Ten youths pelted Mayflower Court, a newly-built housing association facility for elderly people, with stones before chaining and padlocking the complex's main gates.

Wardens say they called Darlington police station three times but were told officers were too busy to attend. Firefighters arrived later and removed the padlock.

Coun Williams said: "While the police were to busy to respond to this violence, it is hard to imagine what the elderly residents were going through while their homes were isolated and subjected to an assault of missiles.

"It is even more difficult to imagine what type of louts could carry out such a callous act."

Estate manager of the Yarm Road complex, Carol Lambird, said: "The people who live in Mayflower Court are elderly, frail or disabled and they felt very vulnerable during the whole episode.

"If someone had needed an ambulance or doctor while the gates were padlocked, the consequences could have been grave."

The incident, on September 19, happened only days after a public meeting in Darlington where residents told police chiefs how hard it was to get a response from the local police station.

Since January, all calls to the station have been handled by Durham Police's new south communications centre in Bishop Auckland.

Coun Williams said: "In recent weeks, more and more local people have contacted me to raise their concerns about the quality of the police response to incidents in Darlington.

"The incident at Mayflower Court was alarming. The police response was lamentable and I have written to the Chief Constable requesting an urgent meeting."

A Durham Police spokeswoman said: "We appreciate this incident must have been a frightening experience for the elderly people at the home.

"It was reported as youths causing annoyance and the response to it was graded according to the information given at the time.

"Unfortunately, it occurred during a period when there was an unusually high number of incidents in the area and resources were fully stretched.

"The beat officer for the area has been fully appraised regarding the matter and will be working to ensure there are no similar incidents in the future."