OLD folk are too scared to travel on buses because they fear they will be attacked by youngsters, claims a new report.

And a Government body has placed the blame for the fear at the door of Blackburn with Darwen Council.

The Audit Commission says more could be done by the authority to tell old people that buses are safe to travel on.

A report into the council's work on promoting the use of public transport in the borough states: "Through its work on the crime and disorder partnership, the council has identified fear of disruptive behaviour by young people on public transport as deterring older people from travelling on buses.

"While political leaders have recognised the issue as important, there is no activity to address its causes.

"Without this activity, actions to encourage older people to travel on older buses will not be sustainable."

Today Councillor Andy Kay, the man in charge of promoting bus use in the borough, hit back at the comments.

He said the council was doing a lot to promote the use of public transport among elderly residents.

Coun Kay said: " It was disheartening to read the Audit Commission's comment that, while the council's Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy has identified that old people fear disruptive behaviour by young people on public transport, there appeared to be no activity to address its causes.

"This is not true. The council has been working with bus operators, the police and representatives of secondary school head teachers since 1999.

"While I would stress that the vast majority of young people using public transport do so in a well behaved and proper way, there is a small minority who cause problems.

"With this in mind, bus operators are installing CCTV on many of their buses and will prosecute offenders.

"People need to be aware that in most cases their fears are quite unfounded. However the council is, and will continues to be, proactive in this area, working with both schools and bus operators where there are problems.

"We will be working with groups which help older people to address this issue and make sure they know we are doing all we can to make bus travel safer."

Vicky Shepherd, from Age Concern Blackburn, said: "I think there is a genuine fear among some older people about travelling on public transport.

"Fear of crime can have just as bigger effect on peoples' lives as crime itself.

"We would certainly welcome the opportunity to work with the council to address this issue because for many older people, public transport is their only means for getting around."