NEWS of a police force's all- out offensive against the yob culture is being spread via a county's road network.

Durham Police's StreetSafe drive to reduce anti-social behaviour, which blights communities across the county, was announced by Prime Minister Tony Blair at a ceremony in his Sedgefield constituency earlier this month.

The force-wide crackdown will target issues affecting people's quality of life, including off-road biking, underage drinking, late-night disorder, vandalism, graffiti, abandoned cars and misuse of fireworks.

Chief Constable Paul Garvin said it would be no "flash in the pan".

And to get the message over to the public, a striking StreetSafe advertisement has started appearing on bus services operating on all routes across County Durham and Darlington.

More than 200 police vehicles liveried in the StreetSafe logo will reinforce the message.

A number of major employers throughout the force area have been recruited to support the campaign.

Tens of thousands of office workers in local government, commerce and industry will be e-mailed with an official leaflet spelling out the virtues of the long-running initiative, and each time one of 850 police computers is switched on, the logo will automatically flash up on screen.

Mr Garvin said StreetSafe was all about listening closely to communities and trying to reduce people's fear of crime.

"We live in one of the safest places in the country, but the conundrum is that people's fear of offending does not match the falling crime levels, high detection rates and a record number of officers on the streets.

"StreetSafe is all about giving communities a real opportunity to influence what we do and hold us to account."

Mr Garvin said the initiative represented a fundamental shift in the force's thinking.