PC PAUL FOLEY and Sergeant Dave Kirton are staking out crime hotspots in an unmarked dark saloon car.

The faces and the names of the criminals who break into and steal cars on a daily basis are familiar to them and they are looking for trouble.

Before Operation Caesar was launched, an average of five cars were broken into every day in Darlington - a figure the town's police describe as "unacceptable" and have vowed to drive down.

The operation has been running for four weeks, targeting vehicle crime hotspots, such as Bank Top and Lascelles, using a large number of officers.

Although it is too early to judge the impact of the high-profile and covert operation, known criminals have already been caught and others have changed their tactics.

Sometime into the evening, the police officers spot one of their top targets, a young man with an appalling record for car crime, cycling in Fenby Avenue, in the Lascelles area.

The dark car pulls up next to the lad, who recognises the police and speeds off. They chase him, but he darts down alleys between the houses.

Sgt Kirton pursues him on foot, but the thief, who has already served jail time, has escaped.

PC Kirton says: "If we had been on bikes we would have caught him. But the important thing is it is sending a message out that we are out here and we are watching them. Chasing him tonight has been priceless because it has rattled his cage."

As well as patrolling in cars, officers use mountain bikes, motorbikes and foot patrols as part of Operation Caesar.

Since it was launched, in and around the Bank Top area, there have been ten arrests. Dozens of people have been stopped and searched and detectives are gathering intelligence so they can carry out search warrants, some in conjunction with North Yorkshire Police.

In the early hours of the evening, the officers are called to a car which has been torched near the Durham Tees Valley Airport, but the perpetrators have gone.

Sgt Kirton says: "It has been a quiet night, there have been no reports of car theft or break-ins, which is good.

"We would like to think this is down to proactive and overt patrols, word has got around.

"Hopefully tonight, we have stopped five people from dealing with the hassle and expense of sorting their car out tomorrow."