NEW security measures at a town centre car park are expected to curb crime and anti-social behaviour problems.

Bolton's three NCP car parks are set to go through upgrades as part of a £1.6m project, with work to install shutters and security doors at the Octagon car park now completed.

Travellers parking at the Great Moor Street site will now come into the building through a metal shutter door which opens when vehicles come close and then closes behind them. After parking, drivers need their ticket to re-enter the car park, meaning nobody can come in unless they have previously parked up.

The area had previously been impacted by drug use and vandalism, with new entry panels damaged and the building's fire alarm repeatedly activated.

A spokesman for the NCP said the work in Bolton was part of a project which saw sites upgraded across the country.

"NCP is currently in the middle of a major nationwide security project which is being rolled out across the multi storey sites on our estate, and as part of the £1.6 million phase one roll out all three of our Bolton multi storey car parks have now received full security shutters and card readers on all doorways into our car parks," they said.

"The Octagon car park is now fully operational with these improvements, and we have had staff on site informing customers of the changes and that there are card readers on all doorways to allow them entry back into the car park."

The upgrades will also ensure that the car parks are "for customers only" the spokesman confirmed.

They added: "We are very aware of a nationwide increase in anti-social behaviour and we can also be affected by these issues as we run buildings that are open to the public.

"We work closely with the police across all our cities and towns that we have car parks in and follow their advice on limiting possibilities of crime on our car parks as much as we can.

"This is our way of investing in our customers and staff and doing all we can to try to ensure that our car parks are places for customers only, and that our staff can work safely in."

Engineers completed several weeks of upgrades on the Octagon car park on Tuesday, April 23, and motorists have been warned that they will need to ensure they have a ticket or NCP Park Pass to re-enter the building after leaving.

The car park has continued to operate during the demolition of the Octagon Theatre, which is set to reopen in 2020 after an extensive rebuilding project.