POLICE aim to crack down on rural crime near Darlington with a farm watch scheme.
Officers would like to hear from farmers and other people who live in the area to the west of the town who would like to be involved.
They want to set up the scheme following a successful operation last week, which saw police working with more than 20 farmers to gather intelligence.
Operation Unravel operated over three nights on the B6275 road between Piercebridge and Bolam, a route officers believe is used by criminals who target rural properties and farms.
The operation saw information from the farmers lead to the arrest of a man travelling in a Transit van containing a lawnmower stolen from an address in Bishop Auckland.
Local beat officer PC Julian Brown said that while the eastern side of Darlington was covered by the Darlington Rural Watch scheme, the western side had been neglected for some time.
Anyone interested in getting involved in a scheme for the area to the west of Darlington is asked to contact PC Brown on (01325) 346839.
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