Police forces in the region have been handed £3.4m to ramp up patrols in areas plagued by anti-social behaviour.

The funding is part of a national pot of £66m announced on Thursday by the Government.

North Yorkshire and Durham both receive £1m, while Cleveland gets £1.4m.

The Government funding is expected to allow forces to launch uniformed patrols in so-called “hotspot” areas where there are high levels of violence and disorder.

The Home Office said the cash will help “drive down crime and boost public confidence” following successful trials in counties including Essex and Lancashire.

There were more than 80,000 hours of patrols over six months in the ten force areas which carried out a pilot of the scheme, leading to hundreds of arrests and cutting levels of anti-social behaviour, according to officials.

Prime Minister and Richmond MP Rishi Sunak said anti-social behaviour “destroys communities and takes away the public’s right to feel safe in the place they call home”.

Steve Turner, who leads the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ work on local policing, added: “The anti-social behaviour hotspot pilots have demonstrated what can be achieved by concentrating efforts on problem areas and following a zero-tolerance approach to drug taking, loitering and fly-tipping.

“Police and crime commissioners know from their engagement with communities how the public want the tackling of anti-social behaviour to be prioritised.”