POLICE and firefighters are to get tough with joy-

riders who have turned a seaside resort into a car crime blackspot.

An action group has been set up in Hastings to tackle the problem which has escalated in recent years.

Crime statistics show the area is one of the worst hit by vehicle thefts and arson attacks on cars in Sussex.

Between 1997 and 1998 more than 4,000 car crimes were committed in Hastings and Rother, an increase on previous years when between 3,000 and 3,500 incidents were recorded.

The figures include theft of cars and theft from cars as well as joyriding and torching.

The majority of the crimes took place in Hastings which has become a black spot for joy-

riding.

Only 48 per cent of around 300 cars stolen in Hastings over the past year were recovered and 14 per cent of those were burnt out.

The fire brigade believes offenders set fire to cars in order to destroy evidence.

Bill Short, fire brigade commander at Bohemia Road, Hastings, said: "People rarely set fires to cars for fun. There is usually a reason.

"We can get called to three or four car fires a night and most are suspicious. But each fire takes up to an hour to extinguish, which means our resources are not available to tackle other fires where lives could be at risk."

Both Bohemia Road and The Ridge fire stations in Hastings reported more calls to car fires than some fire stations in Brighton. Hastings has a much smaller population of 83,000 in contrast to Brighton and Hove which has 250,000.

Mr Short: "There is an obvious problem in Hastings and we need to find some long-term solutions."

This month the fire brigade and police announced they would be working together to launch a new car crime action group.

Mr Short said: "We hope more communication between the brigade and police will enable us to come up with suitable initiatives to deal with this problem."

"We have discussed successful crime prevention projects which have taken place in other counties and are considering what is the best action to take."

Some of the projects under consideration include late- night police checks on cars known to be popular with thieves, mobile video units and a mail shot warning of a police crackdown.

Insp Mike Fagan, of Hastings Police, said: "Following the introduction of the Crime and Disorder Act, we are obliged to cut down on car crime as are all towns in this country.

"The working party has already had one meeting and progress is being made and I am confident of success. We shall also be seeking to tackle potential offenders in the hope of preventing crime.

But Insp Fagan denies his town has become a hive for car related crime.

He said: "Motorists here are in no more risk than those in any other town.

"Car crime is a problem everywhere and particularly in seaside towns, but together we can tackle it."

Earlier this month police launched Operation Ovation to crack down on car crime and made 18 arrests in two days.

A Sussex police spokeswoman said: "The operation was a big success and we hope future operations will be just as effective."

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