BURGLARIES from student digs have almost halved following a crime-prevention campaign launched by the police.

Officers have been working with student groups and university staff in Durham City to cut the alarming rate of break-ins at student accommodation.

Over the past nine months, 39 burglaries have been reported at student houses and flats, of which 35 have been solved.

During a similar period in the previous year, there were 70 burglaries reported, of which only 13 were solved.

The dramatic fall in crime rates is being attributed to a sustained campaign to persuade students to take reasonable precautions to protect their own property.

PC Jeff Barksby, the police's university liaison officer, said: "Much has been done to reduce the risk of students becoming victims of burglary but, because each year students move out of halls of residence into houses, and new students come to Durham to study, it is an ongoing process."

Private landlords who rent property to students have been sent letters, advising them to review security and, as a result, many of the houses have been fitted with burglar alarms and other security devices.

Posters have been displayed in university buildings, shops and libraries, urging students to keep laptops safe.

PC Barksby said: "While it might not be too difficult to replace a laptop, students need to bear in mind how difficult it would be to replace the work held on them once they are lost."

First-year students have been given academic diaries containing relevant information and ultra-violet marker pens, to postcode their property, so, if it is stolen and recovered, it can be returned to them.

Up to 20,000 bookmarks containing crime prevention advice and police contact numbers have been supplied to university and council-run libraries to be handed out with every book.

Leaflets, in the languages spoken by the university's international students, have been circulated, and police and crime prevention information has been posted on the university's websites.

In addition, PC Barksby has been visiting each college to carry out cycle postcoding and talk to students, on both crime prevention and personal safety.

Community inspector Dick Dodds said: "This has been a real team effort, and the reduction is due to some excellent investigative and preventative work."