It has got to be one of the best jobs in the country - a beat bobby in a virtually crime-free neighbourhood. David Roberts caught up with the police officers who patrol Upper Teesdale.

"THAT'S one benefit about community policing, you go somewhere to investigate a complaint and you leave with a plant," joked PC Alison Race.

The complaint in question was from film-maker and parish councillor David Rabbitts, who had been troubled by youths speeding around the village of Cotherstone.

As a keen gardener, PC Race was quick to admire the councillor's pond and garden, and the offer of some cuttings and a hot drink was equally forthcoming.

In a recent poll, Teesdale was voted the best value area in the country in a survey that linked property prices with crime.

In one week this month the only crime reported in the dale was damage to the lock on a shed, in Cockfield.

As a beat officer to villages in Upper Teesdale, PC Race sees one of her main roles as keeping close links with the local community.

She regularly attends meetings of the parish councils and carnival committees, and works closely with the Middleton-in-Teesdale youth group, Three Lions.

With 25 years' police experience, she readily admits to being an old-fashioned type of police officer - she is one of the few police officers to live in her beat area.

"But I'm not a dinosaur," she adds quickly. "You do have to move with the times."

On Friday morning, the crime-free spell was over and Startforth church warden Ken Watson was in the front office to report youths setting fire to the church noticeboard.

PC Gordon Reid had already been called out to a farm near Barnard Castle to investigate the theft of a quad bike and, more worryingly, some sheep medicine.

"We had best get on to Castle Vets to see if that will have any effect on humans," said duty Sergeant Bill Dutton.

In the eastern part of the district, the problems with crime and anti-social behaviour are more pronounced and PC Reid is called to reports of vandalism to a bowling green pavilion in Cockfield and to a children's play area in Staindrop.

A youth wanted for questioning in connection with a theft manages to escape after darting down a side alley.

However, the emphasis is very much still on community policing. An altercation between a mother and her teenage daughter seems to have been resolved amicably when the daughter returns home after some gentle words from PC Reid.

"I think it's definitely better that people get to know you," said PC Race.

"I know practically all the kids by name round here and I think people find it easier to talk to you.

"You do spend a lot of time on your own and some police might prefer the adrenaline of working in a bigger town or city.

"But for me, this job is the best-kept secret in the world."