Teesside has more persistent criminals per head of population than anywhere else in Britain outside London, new figures have revealed.

The Home Office statistics have highlighted the worst areas in the country for repeat offending.

They showed that on Teesside, 850 persistent offenders were responsible for thousands of crimes.

Each has committed at least six crimes in the past year - including shoplifters and thieves targeting parked cars.

Drug operations

Cleveland Chief Constable Barry Shaw said the figures should not be seen in a negative light, but as a good performance indicator.

He said: "What this report illustrates is Cleveland Police is better than anybody for taking persistent offenders to court."

Councillor Dave McLuckie, lead member for community safety with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said Teesside was a victim of its own success.

He said Cleveland Police had been successful with numerous operations, such as the dealer-a-day anti-drugs programme.

Ashok Kumar, Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, criticised courts for handing out "inappropriate sentences".