YOUNGSTERS helped launch a campaign aimed at helping protect elderly people from bogus callers.
Thousands of kids' cards bearing crime prevention advice have been handed to Year 6 pupils across the region, including at Sacred Heart Primary School, in Hartlepool.
The front cover of each card is blank so youngsters can personalise them by design
ing their own pictures before presenting them to an elderly relative or friend.
Funding for the project has come from CE Electric UK, Northern Gas Utilities and Northumbrian Water as part of their joint commitment to tackling bogus callers.
The launch of the kids'cards scheme under the umbrella of Operation Strongbow, which is the regional operation to beat conmen is spearheaded by Durham, Cleveland and Northumbria police forces and Northumbrian Water.
PC Ingrid Wolfe, Strongbow's regional co-ordinator for Durham Police, said: "Bogus callers often pose as staff from utility companies and target the elderly who tend to be more trusting. These people turn up on doorsteps, dupe their way into people's homes and steal from their victims.
"We hope the kids' cards scheme will get generations of the same family talking to each other. When the children give them to an elderly relative, it will hopefully spark discussion and raise awareness of the risks posed by bogus callers."
Northumbrian Water's Cara Hall said: "More than 50 per cent of bogus callers pretend to be from a water company so our partnership with Operation Strongbow to help raise awareness about, and reduce this callous crime is vital.
"The children's card is a fun and creative way of getting serious messages to all age groups and we encourage our customers to listen to our and the police's advice."
