A South Devon newspaper has helped to solve more than 100 crimes by publishing a weekly 'rogues gallery'.

The Herald Express in Torquay has published more than 350 CCTV images since launching its Counter Attack feature four years ago, and as a direct result 122 crimes have been cleared up, with culprits either convicted in court or given a police caution.

Since 2001 the scheme has enjoyed a 70 per cent response rate from readers calling in with names for the faces in the pictures.

Crimes featured have ranged from shoplifting, theft and the use of stolen bank and credit cards to criminal damage, assaults, burglaries and racial abuse.

The scheme is a joint effort between the newspaper and South Devon Police, and PC Jon Moore, Counter Attack co-ordinator, is delighted with the results.

He said: "This is a great partnership between the police, the Herald Express and the community.

"It has received very positive feedback and we have achieved a fantastic rate of clearing up crimes which would otherwise have gone undetected."

Counter Attack was launched after it was realised that once local officers had seen stills from CCTV systems showing criminals in action, but had been unable to identify them, the photographs were simply thrown away and the crime remained unsolved.

Now even when there is no conviction the culprit has been identified for future reference, and a comprehensive system has been set up for logging the photographs as they come in, the dates they are published and any outcome.