Middlesbrough street warden team to be expanded, mayor pledges

The wardens help vulnerable people and tackle anti-social behaviour

A team of street wardens will not be scrapped, a town's new mayor has said.

Fears had been raised last year that funding could run out for about 30 of the Middlesbrough town centre roles.

However, Chris Cooke, who ousted Andy Preston in last month's local elections, has revealed plans to expand the service.

He said it played a "crucial" role in tackling anti-social behaviour in the area.

The wardens report and respond to incidents as well as offer support to vulnerable people.

As part of his plan, Labour's Mr Cooke said he wanted to widen the areas wardens look after to include several estates.

Middlesbrough mayor Chris Cooke said he intended to increase the presence of street wardens

He told BBC Look North: "I think they're crucial. We've seen more and more estates get worse [with anti-social behaviour] and I think we need to invest in the team and invest in CCTV so when we have issues we have the resources to tackle them."

Sharon, who has been a warden for more than 20 years, said the role has significant benefits for residents.

"We could be running to the shop to help an elderly lady or someone might need a bin pulling in.

"Turning the street corner, we might find someone with an addiction who has taken too many drugs and needs help."

Mr Cooke pulled off a shock political win by defeating Mr Preston to become Middlesbrough's mayor.

In a tight race, he won by just 760 votes with 10,956 to Independent Mr Preston's 10,196.