More police officers are to be kept pounding their beat in Darlington.

Policing changes announced this week mean fewer officers will be pulled away from their designated beat to cover for absent colleagues.

There are now 88 core officers in Darlington who will deal with ongoing incidents that need a quick response, such as road accidents and serious crimes.

Another 22 beat officers will operate in specific areas and will also have a detective each working in their wards.

A police spokesman said: "Darlington police chiefs felt beat officers were too often being used to cover for gaps on the core staff caused by absences due to annual leave, training requirements or sickness. As a result designated beat officers were sometimes missing from the communities they were meant to be based in, after being pulled into the main office in the town centre to cover for absent colleagues."

To ensure beat officers spend the maximum time in their areas, a divisional co-ordinator has been appointed to manage staffing levels.

The co-ordinator, a role currently being shared by Sgt Mick Young and PC Dave Duncan, will look at staffing levels across the whole of Darlington rather than each shift tackling cover issues as they arise. All the beat officers and the co-ordinator will be based at the section office in North Road but will spend most of their time in their wards.

Later in the year, the 88 core officers will work from newly converted garages at the back of the St Cuthbert's Way headquarters.

Chief Supt Michael Banks said: "The changes will significantly improve our policing of the town and the outlying areas. But this is just stage one of the reconstructing process. We also hope to expand the role of traffic wardens to link more with community safety issues. While the public sometimes see traffic wardens as the 'yellow peril', ours do an excellent job, especially with regards to road safety and education."