MORE than £100,000 has been allocated to pay for extra bobbies on the beat across a district of County Durham.

It is thought that at least five new policemen will be made available to Derwentside police, although senior figures in the force are hoping to negotiate more.

The boost comes after the force has reorganised its patrol system into 20 distinct districts, with police officers allocated to each area.

The force hopes the extra officers will help keep each beat area fully staffed and prevent beat officers from being regularly seconded to work elsewhere. The money will come from Home Secretary Jack Straw's crime fighting fund, which is designed to recruit more officers.

Divisional commander for Derwentside police, Superintendent Eric Irwin, said the current police control strategy had been well received by the public.

He said: "We have installed a system of having 20 distinct areas and we want to support that. We are still in the process of negotiation, so it is difficult to be too specific about numbers at this stage.

"We plan to have a support unit for each patrol area, and we are currently reviewing how we actually manage those police officers who are on the beat. We are also looking at how we actually feed back to the various communities about the good work we do.

"The purpose will be to maximise the effectiveness of each individual patrol officer."

Derwentside police also want to develop their website to establish a dialogue with the public. Members of each beat community would be able to converse with their beat officer.

Meanwhile, Derwentside police have welcomed a change in the law, which they say will enable them to reduce the amount of under-age drinking.

The law will make it easier for police to prosecute adults who knowingly buy alcohol for youngsters from off-licences.

Derwentside police say there is a problem with youngsters hanging around outside off-licences asking adults to buy alcohol.

Last month, a 14-year-old boy had to be taken to hospital after drinking a bottle and a half of vodka, bought for him in Stanley.