A COUNCILLOR claims two murders in the same ward within a fortnight are 'one-offs'.

Coun Maureen Bateson, who represents the Ewood ward on Blackburn with Darwen Council, said the incidents, in the Infirmary area, could have happened anywhere.

But she did acknowledge there were crime problems in the area, and added that a lot of initiatives were under way to tackle them.

She said: "I was very saddened to hear of this latest incident and I have a lot of sympathy for the family.

"I fully understand why people in the area have concerns but we are working hard and policing is improving in the area.

"Earlier this week, for example, I had a meeting with the community police officer and we spoke about some of the crime issues in the area and how we might work to resolve them.

"We also have a Crime and Disorder Partnership and a strong Neighbourhood Watch network. A lot of the young people in the area are involved in positive things too."

Sue Duckworth, who runs the Ivy Pub in Infirmary Street, said she had noticed a decline in the area over the three-and-a-half years she had lived there.

She said: "It's got terrible. All we seem to hear about are muggings and people getting beaten up.

"It spoils it for the decent people who live around here. I know of a lot of good people who have moved away because they're fed up of it."

The Infirmary area has been the scene of several assaults in the past year. And residents have complained about juvenile nuisance.

In April 2002, 140 residents demanded a meeting with police after claims that teenagers were making the area a 'no-go zone'.

Police responded with extra patrols and the problem seemed to subside. Despite this, shopkeeper Mohammed Arif, of S&A Mini Superstore, in Mosley Street, set up a £3,000 CCTV system to monitor his house, which was across the road from his shop. And in August, a 41-year-old disabled man was knocked to the floor in Mosley Street and set upon by five teenagers, leaving him with head injuries and bruising.

Later that month a woman said she was dragged into an alleyway off Mosley Street by a man, but escaped after kicking him in the groin.

In October, a woman was knocked unconscious by a thief who hit her over the head with a piece of wood and stole her purse in Mosley Street.

And on January 12, Iraqi Kurd asylum seeker Mokhler Mostafa was found dead in Infirmary Street.

A post mortem examination found he had died of stab wounds.

Asylum seeker Samsuddin Farhan Hamad, 20, of Infirmary Street, Blackburn, has been charged with murder in connection with the incident. Following the murder of Eamonn McDonagh, the Gypsy Council today spoke of the prejudice he claimed travellers face.

Charles Smith, who is the mayor of Castlepoint, near Southend, said that the country's 300,000 travellers were an ethnic minority who had to fight racism daily.

He added: "If you are born a gypsy, then a gypsy is what you are. Attitudes are changing, but it is still very difficult.

"There is a lot of uncertainty. We still find it hard to get insurance.

"You apply for a job and if they find out who you are you cannot get employment.

"You often get refused service in pubs and shops or don't get as good a service as everyone else.

"I have never been to a town where there has not been a gypsy.

"They think of the stereotype and don't notice them until they park up on some land."

The Gypsy Council is an organisation which represents the interests of travellers on education, welfare, culture and civil rights.

Travellers site gets revamp

THE official site in Ewood for travellers is undergoing a £775,000 refurbishment with government funding.

It lies in the shadow of Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park, can hold 20 caravans and is home to 100 people.

The cash has gone towards improving the drains and a redeveloped toilet and shower block and new kitchen facilities.

There are plans to introduce a site warden.

Councillors said at the time that the improvements had been made because the site was dilapidated.

Blackburn MP Jack Straw welcomed the move, saying it was an important site.

Travellers were also satisfied and said it was deserved because they were rent-payers who paid council tax.