THIEVES put the safety of dozens of elderly and vulnerable people at risk for the sake of a few hundred pounds, police have revealed.

A number of specialised batteries used to operate a warden-controlled Careline service have been stolen by thieves in Chester-le-Street.

The 12-volt batteries provided the back-up for the system, which provides vulnerable people with a round-the-clock link to the outside world.

Seven of the rechargeable lead-acid batteries were discovered to be missing from locations across the town last Friday.

Each of the batteries was housed inside a metal cabinet located at the roadside, which connected up properties in the street to the council-run system.

In the event of a power cut, the batteries were designed to kick in and keep the lifeline system up and running for around three hours.

A spokesman for Durham Police said: "If the batteries are missing, then potentially up to 30 vulnerable older people could be left without access to the Careline service if there is a problem with the power supply."

Police said that each battery costs about £50 to replace and that they can be used to power other pieces of equipment, including golf trolleys, motorised scooters and remote-controlled models, such as cars and boats.

No-one from Careline could be contacted for comment.

Anyone with any information on the theft is asked to ring police on 0845-60-60-365, Crimestoppers on 0800-555111 or the Careline office on 0191-388-7588.