A HARD-hitting pre-Christmas blitz on criminals was launched yesterday by police.

The operation has been modelled on a similar crackdown last year, which resulted in hundreds of arrests.

The three-week operation, codenamed Bull's-eye, will involve hundreds of uniformed officers and detectives across the Durham Constabulary area.

Full details of the operation, one of the largest in the force's annual calendar, are not being disclosed.

But senior officers believe the wide range of activities being run from the force's 12 main police stations under the Bull's-eye umbrella will produce significant results.

In similar operations over the past three years, more than 500 offenders have been arrested and hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of property has been recovered and drugs seized.

Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Scott, who is overseeing the operation, said uniformed officers would be deployed on both high visibility patrols while plain-clothed officers would be working covertly.

More than £30,000 has been set aside to cover additional costs during the three-week period.

Officers will pay particular attention to shoplifters and are stepping up policing of licensed premises, where social drinking can lead to drunkenness, violence and anti-social behaviour.

Motorists are also being warned not to offer an invitation to thieves by leaving parcels and other valuables on show in their vehicles and homeowners are urged not to leave their homes in darkness.

Traffic officers will pay particular attention to drug-driving offences and will be tracking the movements of known dealers.

Gatherings of young car drivers - known as cruisers - will also be monitored.