A CAMPAIGN is being launched in Hartlepool to deter crime and improve the safety of shoppers.

Operation Yuletide will start at the beginning of December and will run until the first week in January.

It aims to forge closer links between security at the town's Middleton Grange Shopping Centre and local police.

Detective Sergeant Tony Green, of Hartlepool Police, said: "Our aim is to provide a safe and enjoyable shopping environment for legitimate customers. For those who embark on criminal activities within the centres, our aim is to provide sufficient police resources to handle any incident efficiently and with minimum fuss."

Cormac Hamilton, centre manager at Middleton Grange, said: "We are constantly working to improve the environment within the centre and want to provide a safe and pleasant shopping trip for all our shoppers over the Christmas period. Our partnership with the police sends a clear message that anti-social or criminal behaviour is not acceptable in or around the shopping and town centre.

"The strong combination of our manpower and the police authority has also been backed up by a closed-circuit television link with Hartlepool Borough Council.

"This joint exercise effectively doubles CCTV coverage around the town and shopping centre, and has resulted in more effective monitoring and evidence gathering of unacceptable behaviour. We are pleased to report that significant results have been achieved in and around the centre. Crime figures have been reduced by 16.5 per cent in the past ten months.

"By taking a pro-active approach at the shopping centre, and sharing skills and equipment with the police, we will be able to reduce the opportunity for the minority element who damage the reputation of our town."