A SCHEME aimed at cracking down on the number of burglaries in one of Blackburn's crime hotspots has been launched.

The Anti-Crime Workshop, held in the Accrington Road Community Centre, in the Whitebirk area last week, included advice on how to protect homes and property against burglary as well as encouraging residents to come forward and report criminal activity.

Police said the event had gone well, although they expressed disappointment that not more people had taken advantage of the advice on offer.

The scheme is the first of its kind in Blackburn and will be rolled out across the borough over the next few months.

Whitebirk was chosen for the pilot event as it is recognised as a burglary hotspot, with 73 domestic break-ins over the last 12 months.

The workshop was part of the Crime and Disorder Partnership launched this year which aims to bring partner organisations together to crack down on crime.

As well as the police, Crimestoppers, the council and housing organisations were present at the event offering advice on security. Police also delivered 1,500 crime prevention leaflets to all the houses on the estate.

Detectives as well as uniform officers were on hand to help encourage people to give information about crime in the area, if necessary through the confidential Crimestoppers service.

Det Insp Mark Gray, of Blackburn Police, said: "We want to encourage people to be aware of how they can protect their property so that the estate becomes a desirable place for residents and an undesirable one for criminals.

"I was delighted with the members of the public who came along with a genuine enthusiasm to work with the partnership to reduce crime on the estate.

"However, there was still a significant number of the community, including leading members, who did not take advantage of the opportunity presented to them."