ELDERLY residents are pleading with police to continue with a rural mobile support unit when an initial programme comes to an end in April.

Councillor Doris Jones said elderly people in Middleton St George, near Darlington, had been comforted by the presence of the six-man team in the village. It is made up of officers from each of County Durham's six police divisions and spends a week in each area.

Community policeman Karl Lowe said: "It is a trial for six months, which are up in April, and no decision has been made as to whether it will continue. It should be back here in six weeks time."

Coun Jones said the unit had helped deter youths from hanging about in the village which in turn made many residents feeling safe.

PC Lowe said there had been 16 crimes in the village during the past month, two at Teesside International Airport and three at local pubs

Two cars were broken into at the Fighting Cocks pub at the end of January and another at The Farmhouse.

An unoccupied house, which was being renovated, was burgled and two garages were broken into and a bike stolen.

There was also a series of random damage to cars around the village.

PC Lowe said he had taken part in a plain-clothes tour of the village on Thursday and Friday evenings but did not find any significant problems.