PARISH councillors have condemned proposals to change the structure of the Durham police force.

A meeting of Middleton St George parish council questioned the merit of replacing the six divisions in Durham Constabulary with two divisions serving the North and South of the county.

Under the proposals, the force's headquarters would be in Chester-le-Street and Darlington, but the southern communications centre would be in Bishop Auckland.

This has angered Middleton St George parish councillors who say the village would suffer.

Parish council chairman Brian Jones said: "This plan does not have anything to offer us as a village.

"There will be a lack of local knowledge of people taking the 999 calls in Bishop Auckland.

"This could make it less efficient when switchboard staff are trying to deploy officers into the villages to deal with any incidents."

Councillor Doris Jones called on Durham Constabulary to ensure that any changes did not directly affect policing in the village.

Coun Jones said: "We had a police office and that was shut down and sold.

"We are told we still have the same police cover but we have a lot of elderly people living in fear of crime. The only thing that will stop this fear is if officers are seen on the beat. Just because we are not ringing up all the time to report every incident of vandalism or anti-social behaviour does not mean we do not have a problem."

Darlington Borough Council has also expressed concerns about the plan and has suggested that if things have to change, then there should be three divisions - Sedgefield and Darlington, Derwentside and Easington and Chester-le-Street, Wear and Tees.

The chief constable will make the final decision on any changes.