Last updated 19:50, Thursday, 28 August 2008

A DISTINGTON group has won an award for its work tackling anti-social behaviour.

Distington Rural Safety Group has seen a massive reduction in crime and other problems in the village since it was set up two-and-a-half years ago.

The group, which includes social services, housing services, the youth club, doctor’s surgery, parish council, and police, won a regional prize in the 2008 Home Office Tilley Awards for its problem solving approach to crime reduction.

Next month PC Adrian Braniff and Sergeant Richard Farnworth from the group will be presenting their ideas in front of a national panel in Leicestershire.

PC Braniff said: “It was a really good result. We beat off a lot of competition. We will present how we have changed things in Distington. We have worked together to solve issues like anti-social behaviour and traffic matters.

“I believe the police have got to be basic and have a presence. We have changed things from high levels of anti-social behaviour.

“We tackled anti-social behaviour on the Main Street. That was the major problem. There are now CCTV cameras.”

Sergeant Farnworth said: “The results in Distington have been dramatic.

“Tackling anti-social behaviour is not the job of police alone.”

John Bowman, chairman of Distington Parish Council, said the group had brought the community together.