MORE than 90 applications have been submitted for a share of £130,000 made available by County Durham’s police and crime commissioner to support community safety initiatives.

Local organisations and groups across County Durham and Darlington, particularly those from the voluntary and community sector, were invited to submit bids of up to £20,000.

The applications had to demonstrate support for policing priorities highlighted by police commissioner Ron Hogg, including tackling anti-social behavious and the harm caused by alcohol and drug abuse, reducing the impact of domestic abuse and hate crime and improving road safety.

Mr Hogg said: "This has proved a popular scheme which I was pleased to open up to applicants. This was the first round of applications for the current financial year, with the second round of bidding available in August.

"The sheer number of applications means that unfortunately not all bids will be successful, as there is only a limited amount of funding available for the full year.

"What this does reflect however is the vast number of organisations and community groups, large and small, who collectively do a significant amount of good work for the benefit of their communities throughout County Durham and Darlington."

The closing date for this round of funding was April 14. Applicants will find out if their bid is successful before the end of the month (April).

For more information on the Community Safety Fund and the bidding process visit durham-pcc.gov.uk