MODERN technology is cutting the time it takes community wardens in Stockton to report incidents.

The wardens are being trained to use hand-held personal digital assistants (PDAs) to pass on vital information in a fraction of the time it used to take.

The lightweight electronic devices can perform specialised tasks and help wardens to work quickly on reporting anti-social behaviour to police or helping members of the public.

Wardens in Stockton have received training on the PDAs and are becoming increasingly efficient at inputting the relevant data.

It used to take two people one-and-a-half days to complete, collate and distribute information, either by fax or delivered by hand. Now it takes only two-and-a-half hours.

Councillor Paul Kirton, Stockton Borough Council's cabinet member for housing and community safety, said: "This technology is a great asset to our community wardens and the work they do.

"Anything that helps them to pass on vital information quickly can only be a good thing."

The electronic data terminals use GPS satellite navigation technology to enable community wardens to input details of an incident immediately.

The information is then gathered by the enforcement unit and spread to other partner agencies, including the police, fire and other council departments.

Graeme Small, enforcement officer at the council, said: "The intelligence carries far more value when it is fresh and shared quickly."

The information will be dealt with even more efficiently when the neighbourhood enforcement unit starts next April and replaces the existing community wardens.

The neighbourhood enforcement officers will deal directly with incidents previously reported on the ground and the PDA will be used to confirm the action rather than report on it.

For example, if an abandoned vehicle is found in the middle of a field, the enforcement officer can use the terminal to obtain co-ordinates using the GPS mapping facility, have the vehicle removed immediately and even guide the recovery service using the maps displayed on the screen via satellite.

The technology has the potential to develop further, allowing live feed from the scene with wireless technology.