A POLICE authority chairman is appealing to residents to shop rogue landlords involved in drug dealing.

Councillor Ken Walker, chairman of Cleveland Police Authority, is urging people to give him details of addresses where drugs are sold, names of drug dealers and property owners and car registration numbers - promising confidentiality for callers.

Coun Walker, Middlesbrough Council's member for the town centre's Gresham ward, has written to thousands of his constituents appealing for them to name names.

He intends using the information he is given to reinforce his campaign aiming to confiscate houses which are rented out to or owned by drug dealers.

According to Coun Walker, criminals are being attracted to Teesside from other parts of the UK "because of the apparent willingness of some landlords to rent out their properties without any regard for the fact that they are being used as crack-houses".

He launched his campaign to end what he called drug tourism after a spate of arrests and court appearances on Teesside of dealers from London and the South.

Coun Walker has written to Home Secretary David Blunkett and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott calling for a change in the law which would place the onus on criminals to prove houses were not bought from the profits of crime.

Coun Walker has already launched a petition to reinforce his call.

He said yesterday: "It is clear from the response I have received since I launched my campaign and petition, calling for the Government to introduce tougher action against those who profit from allowing property to be used for drug dealing and related criminal activity such as prostitution, that there is a huge a groundswell of public feeling over this issue.

"I have already distributed 3,000 copies of my letter and again I am delighted with the very positive feedback I am getting. My basic message to local people is that, if you feel so strongly about the need to clean our streets of the drugs menace, you have to play your part.''

While the idea of shopping crooked landlords might make some people nervous, he said that without the public's help, it will be difficult to prevent the problem spreading.