COUNTY Durham and Darlington are two of the safest places in the country, according to the area's police chief.

Durham Constabulary has released figures showing overall recorded crime has fallen more than five per cent in the past year, from 51,188 to 48,428 offences.

Violent crime - assaults, sex attacks and robbery - dropped by 14 per cent, from 8,333 to 7,152, one of the country's lowest totals, the force says.

House break-ins, which reached a high of 7,753 ten years ago, have fallen to a record low of 2,843, while car crime has declined by five per cent to just over 7,000.

Durham Chief Constable Paul Garvin said the figures confirmed another year of "outstanding achievement'' by the force, which is expected to be praised in a report due to be issued by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary next month.

Mr Garvin said: "Durham is one of the safest places to live in Britain. There are nearly 5,000 fewer victims of house burglary than there were ten years ago, and violent crime is the fourth lowest in England and Wales.

"All this has been achieved at a time when the force has been undergoing a massive period of reorganisation.

"But the reduction in crime and our high detection rate could only be achieved through our close partnership working with our local communities.''

The force says its success is partly due to targeting prolific offenders, developing intelligence and using computer models to predict crimes.

It plans to tackle the fear of crime and more minor disorder problems in the county.

"Our priority is to make people feel safe when they are in their homes and when they are walking down the street," said Mr Garvin.

"We will do that by tackling the issues, sometimes of a relatively minor nature, that can together combine to have a devastating impact on the quality of people's lives.''

The HMI report will acknowledge "significant achievements'' by the force, which last year replaced its six territorial divisions with two large command areas