A craze for drugs is driving up crime, says Cleveland Police Chief Constable Barry Shaw.

Cleveland Police are virtually battling with as many crimes on a daily basis as there are days in the year.

The staggering admission is made in Mr Shaw's annual report.

Highlighting in his report the need for a police force Mr Shaw says: "Much of the increase is driven by the growth in heroin addiction and the increasing use of cocaine which blights our communities and fuels crime and anti social behaviour.

"My officers dealt with a total of 237,000 incidents during the year, an increase of four percent. This amounts to approximately 650 incidents per day.''

The workload is despite putting 45 more police officers on the street during the year.

Cleveland Police staff are praised by their chief for their effort and commitment.

To say money only a limited number of copies of the report have been produced.

However, the full report and details of crime busting initiatives being undertaken can be downloaded from the Cleveland Police website at www.cleveland.police.uk.