POLICE broke down the door of a couple's house at 3am after a caller claimed their baby had been crying for several hours.

Leander Pomfret, 24, and his partner Kimberley Walker, 18, woke to find four officers in their bedroom in Leach Street, Blackburn, following the anonymous phone call.

Police said that they took the action because they had concerns for the safety of the two-month-old baby in the house and because the door remained unanswered.

But the couple have accused them of over-reacting and said it would have been impossible for the child to have been crying for that long.

Police said that they forced the door just before 3am on Friday after receiving a call at 2.10am from someone who claimed the baby had been crying for several hours.

However Mr Pomfret said that the claim was impossible as they had only returned home with the baby at midnight.

The couple, who work in the Postal Order pub in Darwen Street, Blackburn, as a chef and waitress, have only been living in the rented property for a few months with their only daughter, Bianca Louise Rose Walker Pomfret.

Mr Pomfret claimed officers had threatened to call Social Services, reducing his 18-year-old partner to tears.

The couple, who have been together for two years after meeting in a Blackburn cafe, said they were enjoying settling into their first home after living with Miss Walker's mother for over a year.

Neighbours said they heard no noise that night and paid tribute to the "lovely, quiet" couple.

Mr Pomfret now plans to complain to police about damage to his front door and bedroom door.

He said: "I'd had a couple of drinks at my friend's house and we got home at midnight.

"Me and Kim had a little snack before going to bed.

"The next thing, I woke up to see four police officers standing in my bedroom.

"They were saying 'Why didn't you wake up when the baby cried?' - then said she had been crying for four to six hours, which was impossible.

"Kim got really upset - she was heartbroken.

"I seriously couldn't believe it - finding four police officers in your bedroom asking why your baby is crying.

"We have a tidy house, Bianca is a perfect baby - healthy and happy and was only discharged by the health visitor this week, who said she was thriving.

"I am going to complain about it to the police because why should I have to pay for the front door, when they have broken it?

"It's not just the damage, they were talking to me like a piece of muck, telling me how to look after a child and asking if I worked. She's two months old, we know how to look after her."

A spokeswoman for Lancashire Constabulary said: "We responded to a caller concerned for the welfare of a baby which was reported to have been crying for several hours at an address on Leach Street, Blackburn.

"Officers had serious concerns for the safety of the people inside the house and did everything within their power to speak to the occupants before having no option other than to force entry into the property.

"Police have a legitimate power to force entry into any property to ensure the safety and welfare of those inside and the officers who attended the address acted appropriately and legitimately in view of the concerns which had been raised."

A neighbour a few doors away said: "They haven't been here long but they seem lovely.

"I haven't heard any noise from the house."

Next door neighbour William Taylor said: "It's rubbish - I would have heard a baby cry because my bedroom is next to theirs and there was no noise that night.

"They are a very quiet and pleasant couple and I like them both".