SUSPECTS held in custody are being urged to turn informer -- by an advertisement for Crimestoppers painted on the ceiling of cells.

People lying on their beds at the Greenbank station, Whitebirk, will soon be staring at the two-foot long message.

Over the next few weeks, police plan to spray paint the advert on the ceilings of all 42 cells in the new £7million police headquarters for the Eastern Division, which covers Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley.

The message will read: "If you have any information about any crime, phone Crimestoppers anonymously - 0800 555 111".

Chief Inspector Steve Gregson said: "There will be people in custody who have information that may help us and that they want to pass on to the police, but feel unable to do so while in that environment.

"We want to ensure that they can pass on whatever information they might have confidentially, and anonymously, in order to allow us to take the appropriate action."

Meanwhile, police are encouraging the general public in East Lancashire to continue calling Crimestoppers.

Recent national newspaper reports suggested that only a tiny percentage of calls to the hot-line resulted in action.

However, Lancashire Police have released figures to show how vital the service is throughout the county.

In the Eastern Division, during the first three months of this year, there have been 15 arrests from 141 Crimestoppers calls.

The Pennine Division, covering Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, had 185 calls and made 11 arrests during the same period.

Crimestoppers calls are always referred to officers in the intelligence department, who decide how to use the information.

Police stress that while the caller may think their information has not been acted on, often officers use it to build up evidence on, for example, drug dealers over a long-period.

Mr Gregson added: "There is no doubt that Crimestoppers is a valuable and useful tool that is well-used in Eastern Division.

"The figures show that the public are confident in using the service and that when they do, we can take positive action with the information they provide.

"Divisional operations - such as support - rely on good information and that can come from a whole variety of sources."

"There's no doubt Crimestoppers is a vital link in the fight against crime."