A GROUP of Radcliffe residents have pulled together to create their own community force to fight back against vandals.

Neighbours in Ainsworth Road first voiced their concerns at March's area board meeting, pleading with councillors to help them tackle the troublemakers.

The householders said thugs were using the back street -- near the junction of Herbert Street and Ainsworth Road-- after dark, vandalising and breaking into parked cars, stealing vehicles and damaging property.

Garages at the back of the houses were continuously damaged , and there were fears that asbestos in the panels, when smashed, could cause a health hazard.

Since threatening to take the law into their own hands, residents have noticed a big reduction in crime in the area, and given the efforts of Bury Council and the police the thumbs-up.

Resident Neil Howard (32), said: "It has been absolutely brilliant. There have not been any real problems, and the council has been round and cleaned up all the mess.

"Since the area board meeting, when residents spoke out about the problems, there has been a complete turnaround in the back street. It's a big thumbs-up all round.

"The residents have pulled together as well, and at night when people come home from work, they stand around and chat outside for ages. There's always a presence in the street now."

The neighbours set up a Home Watch scheme in April, and have held regular meetings to ensure that work is maintained. The residents are looking forward to a brighter future for the street that had previously been highlighted as a crime hotspot.

Police in Radcliffe have reported a significant decrease in the number of reports about the behaviour of young people. In the general area of north Radcliffe, there has been a reduction of more than one-third of such complaints during the past couple of months.

Inspector Steve Clark, head of Radcliffe Township, said: "The test is now to sustain that result. It is very kind of Mr Howard to compliment the police on the work that has been done. This uniting of neighbours often works well because it encourages the realisation that we are not alone, but that we are all working towards the same end.

"Gwennant Davies, Radcliffe's youth services manager, has been doing a lot of work to provide activities for young people which gives them something constructive to do, and in turn provides them with somewhere other than a street corner to hang about on.

He added that checks had been made on local off-licences to make sure they were not selling alcohol to under 18s.

Mr Howard added that the residents now hoped to start a residents' association so they could be seen as an official group.

"We'd like to get funding for new fence panels to replace those that have been damaged. "The place looks completely different now. To be honest, we did not expect all this to happen. At the area board meeting we were all at the end of our tether with the problems, and voiced our opinions, but we cannot praise the council and police enough. It's wonderful."

Coun Barry Briggs, chairman of the Radcliffe area board, said he was pleased with the result in Ainsworth Road.

He said: "It's great to get such a good result following the problems that residents were suffering. It shows the value of the council and the police working together to tackle local issues."