THE war on the sale of hard drugs in the North-East is to be intensified, police chiefs pledged yesterday.

As statistics showed an overall rise in crime in County Durham and Cleveland, bosses from both forces said they would step up efforts to drive out dealers.

Recorded crime in the Durham force area was up by two per cent in the past financial year, and 2.5 per cent in Cleveland, compared to the previous year.

The news came as Cleveland Police said they were seeking Government approval to become a pilot area for tougher measures as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill. If approval is given, police will have powers to close crack houses, as well as strengthening controls on air weapons and issuing fixed penalty notices to parents of truants.

Police authority chairman Councillor Ken Walker, said: "I wrote to the Home Secretary last month suggesting that we could provide a useful pilot site for the new measures he proposed, which would enable the closure of drugs dens within 48 hours and the sealing of them for three months, to prevent dealers moving back in."

In Darlington, where drug-related offences were down 7.9 per cent last year, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Reddick said combating the trade of Class A drugs would remain a key priority.

"I certainly intend to up the ante with a lot more pro-active drugs operations," he said.

Across the whole Durham Constabulary area, figures for the past year show a fall in the number of house burglaries from 4.573, to 3,083.

Head of CID Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Scott said new Home Office recording standards were responsible for the overall increase in crime, especially violent crime, which rose by 24 per cent.

He said: "A great many of the violent crimes recorded this year were at the lower end of the scale and the direct result of changes in standards."