MOTORISTS in Darlington are being urged to adopt a simple crime-fighting tactic to tackle a steep rise in car crime.

The number of vehicle thefts and vehicles taken without consent in the borough rose by almost a quarter last year, and police said offenders aged 16 to 24 were to blame.

They want older vehicle owners to display a sticker bearing the number 25.

Patrolling officers who spot young drivers behind the wheel of vehicles with the stickers will stop them.

Between April and December last year, 457 vehicles were stolen or taken without consent in the borough, compared with 369 in the same period in 2002. Crime reduction officer PC Ian Clelland said Darlington's 24 per cent increase in car thefts was not reflected in other parts of the Durham Constabulary area, where offending was falling or static.

He said: "There are more than 42,000 households in Darlington borough and, while the number of vehicle thefts is relatively small by comparison, we are still concerned by the increase.

"Many of the cars are taken by offenders in their mid-to-late teens and early-twenties.

"They often use them for a few hours and abandon them. The number of vehicles never seen again are very much in the minority."

The stickers are available free from the Community Safety Partnership's offices in Gladstone Street, the main police station in St Cuthbert's Way and the reception desk at the town hall.

They will also be distributed by Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators.

Thefts from vehicles in Darlington have also risen, from 866 between April and December 2002 to 1,345 in the same period last year.

Since last September, under the Hawkeye initiative, 800 motorists who left valuables in unattended vehicles in the town have been sent letters warning them of the dangers of leaving property on view.

Sgt Paul Robinson, from Darlington's Community Safety Department, said research suggested thefts from vehicles could be cut by nearly two-thirds if property was locked out of sight.