IF, when Lancashire Police first took the step four months ago of displaying 'wanted posters' of on-the-run offenders on the Internet, cynics saw it as a gimmicky move, they have surely been disabused as the force again employs this weapon in the fight against crime.

That is because it works.

Last time, when, as part of the county-wide Operation Reassure pre-Christmas crackdown on crime, the force posted photographs of ten wanted men on its website, the result was that six of them had been caught by the end of January.

Now another ten offenders may find they, too, have no hiding place as they get the same treatment.

Every day, more than 200 people visit the 'wanted poster' website -- eyes that belong to people from all parts of an ever-increasingly 'on-line' community.

It is a system that has swiftly proven effective and Lancashire Constabulary is right to take advantage of it for all it is worth -- time and again, so that more strides are taken in the fight against crime and reducing the fear of crime.

Contrasted with its traditional image of prosperity and a high quality-of-life quotient, it may seem strange that Clitheroe is forming an action group to inject new life into its streets by grabbing government aid for flagging market towns.

But although Clitheroe is far from deprived, it is wrong to suggest it does not have problems -- not least those of becoming dormitory where better off people live, but work elsewhere, and of drink-driven violence and hooliganism at weekends.

And if government money is available to improve the place, Clitheroe is right to seek it.

A key factor in reversing the 'dormitory' effect and boosting a sense of community awareness that could combat its youth troubles would be targeting aid at low-cost housing for first-time buyers. This would enable a lot more young Clitheronians to afford to live in and help the town they were born in to really thrive.