Thirsk has been selected as a new Beacon Town for England by the Countryside Agency.

The Beacon Town award is designed to show how market towns can act as service centres for their residents and communities in surrounding rural areas.

In Thirsk, Beacon Town work will focus on community safety. The Thirsk Regeneration Initiative Partnership will work with the Countryside Agency to build upon the work already done by Hambleton District Council.

Starting with an audit of crime levels and community safety issues, the partnership will develop the skills capacity of local people and community-based schemes aimed at improving community safety and reducing crime.

Stephen Hubbard, Hambleton District councillor for Thirsk, said: " Beacon status will pull in all members and organisations in the community to create a successful and safe environment.

"It is for community safety, which has been highlighted so that people in the community are more mindful of being safe and secure in their local towns."

Richmond and Whitby were two of the first nine Beacon Towns announced by the Countryside Agency last July.

Countryside Agency chief executive Richard Wakeford said: "Our first nine beacon towns highlighted some wider issues of concern such as how to reuse valuable but difficult to utilise vacant space in a town centre, how to improve the provision of services for young people and families and how market towns can become the hub for local food production, marketing, and distribution.

"Demonstrating ways to tackle the problems many rural communities face and learning from, and sharing the results, are the core of the Countryside Agency's work. Beacon towns act as test beds and provide opportunities to try different approaches."

Each town has been chosen to demonstrate how best to tackle a particular issue or range of issues. The towns were selected from more than 200 market towns taking part in the Countryside Agency's Market Towns Initiative.