SUPERNANNIES are to be sent into East Lancashire to advise parents how to bring up their children.

The parenting experts are coming to Blackburn with Darwen and Burnley as a result of a £4million government bid to nip anti-social behaviour in the bud.

The government insists the recruits - being sent into 77 of the UK's most deprived areas - will stop short of "interfering" in the parents' lives but help mums and dads put an end to bad behaviour and bring up better behaved children.

The majority of the parenting projects will be running by January, mirroring the success of a range of TV shows highlighting parenting methods.

Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire County Council will decide how to utilise the experts.

But the supernannies will offer a range of advice from one-to-one support at home to coordinating group sessions for parents at community venues.

Advice include how to control difficult children, praising children and taking an interest in their lives. Councils will also be able to order parents whose children show persistent bad behaviour to attend compulsory parenting courses.

The scheme has prompted anger amongst parent groups.

Nick Seaton chairman of The Campaign for Real Education, which pushes for more parental choice in the UK, said: "Most sensible parents will disapprove of this which amounts to nanny state interference.

"It's a step too far. Most parents care for their children and don't need to be told to care for them. The ones who do need help will spurn it anyway."

Parents also remain to be convinced. Lisa Durkin, 35, of Ightenhill, Burnley, said: "I welcome the idea behind it but it will only work if it is part of a wide range of packages.

"There will always be those who refuse help though no matter what."

Earlier this year, lollipop man Chris Allen blamed parents for pupils' bad behaviour, revealing he suffered regular abuse from adults parking illegally outside St Leonard's CE Primary School, Langho, where his son Benjamin, 10, attends.

He spoke after an exclusive Lancashire Telegraph investiga-tion revealed 72 of the region's teachers were assaulted by pupils in the year to March.

He said: "The danger is parents will see it as interference but I think it is a great idea."

Council chiefs have welcomed the move, including Coun Andy Kay chairman of Blackburn with Darwen's Community Safety Partnership.

He said: "The money will be used to provide support to parents concerned about their children's behaviour."

And Louise Casey, a government co-ordinator overseeing the scheme said: "Good parenting courses really work."