'Fearless Francis': Darlington's hero?

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By Claire Bolderson BBC News Francis Jones is a former boxer and now a born-again Christian preacher

On a chilly weekday evening, a steady drizzle and howling wind mean there are very few people on the streets of Skerne Park in Darlington.

But Francis Jones is out and about, driving slowly through the sprawling neighbourhood of council houses in an old police car, clearly distinguished by its red and blue stripes.

Slightly built but clearly very fit, 28-year-old Mr Jones is a former professional boxer.

He has also run a security company supplying bouncers for Darlington's pubs and clubs in the past.

Now "Fearless Francis", as he was known in the ring, is providing a different kind of security service, patrolling the streets of Skerne Park and dealing with troublemakers - for a fee.

'Niche in the market'

Mr Jones charges £3.50 a week, with a discount for pensioners, to any resident or business worried about crime.

He has three associates who help with the night-time patrols.

But the 30 people who have signed up in the three weeks since he started Sparta Street Safe have done so largely because of the reputation of Mr Jones himself.

FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE <a class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml">More from BBC World Service</a>

"I thought there was a niche in the market," he told the BBC World Service.

He explains that for some time before he started charging, friends had been calling him whenever there was any trouble near their homes.

As a boxer he was well known in the northern town and Mr Jones says that means he has always been respected.

"I would go to try to defuse any bother.

"People would communicate better with me than with the police," he says.

And it is not hard to find those who see him as a something of a hero.

Authority figure

At the B&G corner store, the family-run business is already benefiting from Mr Jones's new line of work.

Mother, Ginny, says for months they had been plagued by kids hanging out on the doorstep, intimidating shoppers and stopping customers getting in.

"Every time I phoned the police they took four, five hours [to arrive] but with Mr Jones, it's two or three minutes," she says, beaming.

So what did Mr Jones do exactly to get rid of the teenagers?

"He just had a word with them nicely," she says and adds that it has been quiet ever since.

"What an improvement, I can't believe it. I was losing trade."

It is the same story at the Stop and Tan Professional Beauty and Tanning Salon, where Mr Jones is greeted like an old friend.

I am concerned about an enterprise that is making a profit on the basis of people's anxieties and fears Chief Inspector Paul Unsworth

The young women working at the salon describe how teenagers congregate outside in the evenings, sometimes getting in the way as they try to close up the shop, even on one occasion throwing eggs at their cars.

The salon is not yet paying for Mr Jones's services, but the staff think they probably will sign up because they have seen what he can do.

"It's a case of saying 'Come on lads, move on'," says one of the women.

"When they see someone coming, someone authoritative, they know to move on."

It is that figure of authority that the community seems to want most.

Mr Jones does have clients worried about burglaries and he recently chased a man who had broken into one of the smart new, privately-owned, houses on the edge of Skerne Park.

But what bothers the residents and shopkeepers most is anti-social behaviour by young people.

As Mr Jones puts it, "we need discipline and there's no discipline on these streets".

'We don't want a vigilante'

Darlington's council and the local police are not so sure that Mr Jones is the best person to provide it.

Bill Dixon is deputy leader of the Labour-run council and the member responsible for neighbourhood services and community safety.

He says Darlington's crime rate is lower than the regional average and falling.

Francis Jones' old police car is now a familiar sight in Darlington

And while he acknowledges there is a problem with anti-social behaviour, Mr Dixon says the council and police are tackling it effectively by targeting the main troublemakers.

"Yes, you cannot rely on the police to resolve all the problems of modern society," he says.

"But, on the other hand, what we don't want is some kind of vigilante.

"There are people employed to do this job and I say let them get on with it."

Chief Inspector Paul Unsworth is one of those people.

He is the neighbourhood policing manager for Darlington and is worried about what Mr Jones is up to.

The chief inspector says surveys show that the public in Darlington are happy with policing in the town.

"This is a low-crime, high-confidence area," he says.

And while people may well be frightened of crime, he adds that he has "a great concern about an enterprise that is making a profit on the basis of people's anxieties and fears".

Mr Jones believes the anxieties and fears are real and grounded in fact.

Which is why he says "word is getting around, phone calls are coming in all the time".

And while he acknowledges he does not have the facts and figures to prove it, he is adamant.

"We're certainly deterring burglaries and anti-social behaviour," he says.