POLICE officers were forced to launch a swift cover-up operation yesterday to prevent their chief constable from being arrested - over the plight of rare newts.

Durham Chief Constable George Hedges was theoretically facing the prospect of up to six months behind bars after it emerged that his officers had failed to protect a band of the endangered amphibians.

Mr Hedges nearly found himself on the wrong side of the law when wayward great crested newts fell down an uncovered drain at Peterlee's new £2m police station.

Durham Constabulary had given an undertaking to ensure the safety of the newts when they erected the building on land near to a established newt breeding pond.

But only weeks after the station opened, the first of the protected species, along with some common newts, found their way to an uncovered drain and met a murky end.

The great crested newts' demise prompted the appointment of local bobby Mick Hayton as Wildlife Liaison Officer for the Easington Division.

Protected by their own personal officer, the future of the newts looked secure.

All went well - until this week. The great crested newts were back on the move and it was discovered that no action had yet been taken to cover the drain.

PC Hayton again had to fish out the casualties, including a haul of five yesterday afternoon, some dead and some alive.

The accident-prone newts now have more serious implications because new laws make endangering the protected species' lives an arrestable offence.

And with Mr Hedges holding overall responsibility for the force, it was he who would have taken the rap and faced a fine for each dead newt or a six months prison sentence.

But the prospect of a prosecution diminished yesterday afternoon when a cover was swiftly installed over the drain.

The news was welcomed by Rob Lamboll, at English Nature's Castle Eden Dene reserve, who said: "All we wanted was for some action to be taken to stop the newts from going down the drain."