TRAFFIC journey times along key routes is to be monitored by using surveillance technology in a bid to reduce congestion.

Officers from Darlington Borough Council's transport team are to use cameras to determine times taken to drive through Darlington.

The council team will use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to calculate how long drivers take on key roads.

Dave Winstanley, the council's assistant director for highways, told a meeting of the authority's economy and environment scrutiny committee that the first road to be monitored would likely to be North Road.

If the scheme was successful, it could be used on other roads in the town.

Mr Winstanley said the scheme would use ANPR cameras to determine how long cars took to drive between two different points on certain routes.

He said the results would be used to find out major issues around the town.

Mr Winstanley added: "We can see which links take the longest and which are okay.

"The whole idea is to identify where the issues are and what we can do to improve that.

"With any improvement we have to be careful that things don't see more cars on the road and we go back to square one.

"And hopefully it will help to reduce rat running."

He also eased fears that the cameras would be used for any other issues such as untaxed vehicles, which are monitored by police using the same scheme.

However, traffic officer Ken Major said in future the monitoring could be run using the police's own cameras.

The scheme is one of the schemes identified as priority areas for the coming year.

The new action plan is due to be completed by June, with annual reports made to councillors on key routes.

A report to the committee added: "Congestion is limited to certain hotspots, at particular times and days of the week. Congestion is not currently a major issue, with exception of certain hot spots."