CLEVELAND Police Chief Constable Sean Price was put in the hot seat at a tenants' forum when about 50 people quizzed him on policing issues.

Tenants of Coast and Country Housing questioned him at Park Court Community Centre, Redcar, on the force's recent poor performance in national tables.

Questions also focused on the perception that some areas were losing out to others in high-profile policing issues.

Many also wanted to know about plans to tackle anti- social behaviour.

Other concerns included how emergency services would cope in the event of a terrorist attack and police weekend shift patterns.

The chief constable made a short speech about the challenges that have faced Cleveland Police since he was appointed 14 months ago, and spoke about the force's future targets.

Jason Lowe, tenancy services manager for Coast and Country Housing, said: "This meeting was a first for our tenants' forum and the chief constable's appearance was very well received.

"He was very frank and honest in the way he handled the questions put to him, and acknowledged there were problems as reflected in budgets and the performance league tables.

"But he once again stated his firm commitment to continued improvements in crime prevention by listening to and working in close liaison with communities and agencies such as ourselves.

"We are delighted that the chief constable has agreed to come back and conduct another open Forum with our tenants - it proved to be a very successful exercise for all concerned."