A COUNCIL has formed a partnership with Crimestoppers in a bid to combat crime in a town.

Peterlee Town Council approached the Chester-le-Street agency, which allows people to report crimes anonymously, after deciding the town could make better use of it.

Council officials felt that residents would be willing to play a more active part in solving local crimes, but were unaware that Crimestoppers allowed them to do this anonymously.

Now, following a series of talks with the agency's officers, the council has donated an undisclosed amount towards rewards for information given by the Crimestoppers Trust.

It also plans to raise the profile of Crimestoppers through its regular newsletter and by putting up posters.

John Arthur, the town council's clerk, said the partnership should make a big difference to crime fighting in Peterlee.

"You often see the adverts for Crimestoppers, but lots of people don't know how it operates," he said.

"When we talked to the officers, we felt it could play a wider role in making rewards available for crimes in the town."

Mr Arthur said he hoped that by making people more willing to report crimes, the partnership would lead to a greater police focus on Peterlee.

"We are trying to draw attention to some of the crimes in Peterlee and seeing if we can help the police to solve them," he said.

"We already have regular meetings with the police, but now Crimestoppers will feed into them.

"We will also have regular meetings with Crimestoppers."

Detective Sergeant Ken Parkin, head of the North-East Crime-stoppers unit, said: "We want to ask the people of Peterlee to join us in a partnership to help the police and help themselves.

"We hope to form similar partnerships with other councils in the future."

Crimestoppers offers rewards for good quality information supplied anonymously, which are paid without officers ever knowing the caller's identity. It can be contacted on 0800 555 111.