A COMMUNITY group has pledged its support for a youth project which has reduced anti-social behaviour.

Members of the Branksome and Cockerton West Community Partnership said the Westside project at Branksome School had been very successful - and they intend to apply for funding to ensure it continues.

The Friday night project was set up by a police unit to reduce anti-social behaviour in Darlington.

It has cut the problems of youths causing annoyance in the Cockerton and Branksome areas through raves and sporting activities.

However, last week Durham Constabulary disbanded the StreetSafe unit to provide more beat officers and there are worries the project will be hard to sustain without the unit's support.

Yesterday, Darlington police said they will provide two police officers to support the project on Friday evenings.

Members of the community partnership met on Monday to discuss how they could help to sustain the project.

Committee member William Appleby said: "If we don't keep the project on, the kids are going to run riot again."

Another member, Jan Cossins, said: "It has built the kids' hopes up, they have been told they can even take ownership of it, to drop it all would be catastrophic. The project does need to be kept on, but we need qualified people running it."

Committee member Roger Sansom said: "This is a way of getting through to the kids.

"If we let these youngsters down now it could take years to pick it up again."

The group voted to apply for grants and donations.

Community development worker Morvyn Sanderson said: "All the partnerships in Darlington are desperate for a Westside project, but it is not going to work in all areas.

"We have become involved because we were a hotspot, but the other partnerships have seen how successful it is.

"It is possible the Westside project could become monthly, or it could include other parts of the town."

Inspector Chris Reeves, of Darlington police, said: "We are delighted that the community partnership wants to take the project on, because that is how we see this going forward and we will support to the best of our ability."

The project was recently awarded £2,500 by the Darlington Round Table.