RESIDENTS under siege from tearaway teenagers say they want to take County Durham Police's chief constable to task for failing to stop the problem.

After years of putting up with petty vandalism, abuse and harassment from local youngsters, fed-up residents in Newfield, near Chester-le-Street, want to bring disciplinary procedures against Chief Constable George Hedges.

They claim that his officers - and by implication Mr Hedges - have failed in their duty to stop anti-social behaviour by a small number of youths.

They say that response times are slow and officers often dismiss their concerns by saying it is just kids "mucking about".

Police bosses refute the allegations and point out that the chief constable cannot be disciplined for the way he manages the force.

Matty Cairns, of Roseberry Villas, Newfield, sent a 28-signature petition to the force's Aykley Heads headquarters, calling for Mr Hedges to be disciplined.

He said: "Promises have been made to us by the police, but nothing is getting done to stop the constant harassment from these young people.

"There are people in Newfield, and in The Parade area of Pelton Lane Ends, who have been terrorised for years, yet the police do nothing about it.

"If it was just kids going round creating general annoyance it wouldn't be quite so bad, but they are targeting specific people, usually the elderly.

"We feel that the chief constable has failed in his duty to deal speedily and effectively with young offenders."

Superintendent Eric Suddes, commander of the Chester-le-Street and Durham police division, said that they were winning the battle against teenage tearaways.

He said: "The chief constable, the chairman of the police authority and myself are all aware of the concerns of the people in that community.

"Police activity in the area is addressing the community's concerns, and will continue to do so.

"However, while we have to balance these concerns against all the demands on police resources across the rest of the division, it is a fact that we have already devoted a tremendous amount of time and effort into positive policing in the area.

"It should be remembered that some of the activities and behaviour of the young people in this community does not constitute breaches of criminal law and our powers are in some instances very limited.