Uniformed police officers are to travel on buses serving a troubled Darlington council estate after a concrete slab was thrown through a driver's window.

The move comes in the wake of a series of incidents in which a pub, homes and cars have all been attacked and damaged on the Skerne Park estate.

Residents are demanding closed circuit television to curb the problems.

In October, Arriva buses temporarily withdrew a service to the housing estate after youths assaulted a driver.

Deter attacks

Inspector Dennis Dixon, of Durham Police, said they were taking the situation very seriously.

He told BBC Radio Cleveland: "We are having a meeting with all interested parties, including the bus company, to discuss actions to tackle the problem.

"We are looking at having officers travelling on buses, either police officers or wardens or a mixture of both.

"Hopefully that way we can either deter the attacks, or if any attack does occur, we can quickly get to the perpetrators and nip it in the bud before it gets out of control."

A spokesman for Arriva said bus services were not being withdrawn at the moment but the situation was being closely monitored and safety would not be compromised.