A SOCIETY set up to deal with sheep stealing before the formation of the police force is still going strong in a County Durham village.

The Society for the Prevention and Prosecution of Felons was one of the first organisations set up to deal with law and order in the country.

It was formed in 1854 to deal with sheep stealers, and members were mostly landowners, farmers and tradesmen, who would put up rewards for information on thieves.

Convictions were made on the basis of testimony from witnesses, and were often hit and miss, with the large rewards for information an attraction for unscrupulous people with a grudge to bear.

The police force took over most of the powers for law enforcement, but the Coundon branch of the society is still going strong, meeting six times a year for social gatherings, although these are not open to women.

At the group's last meeting, donations were made to the newly- formed Coundon and Leeholme Junior Football Club and the Coundon Junior Jazz Band.

Treasurer Harry Russell said: "We don't have any powers of arrest or anything like that. It is just a social group now, although one group down South still had these powers in 1973.

"We have about 100 people attend our annual supper."