POLICE have arrested eight criminals on their 20 most wanted list in a new crackdown on crime in East Lancashire.

And the remaining 12 have been warned: "We know who you are and will catch you."

Detectives drew up the top 20 - of which 12 are teenagers - for Operation Except, a month-long crackdown on burglary, car crime and drugs offences in the Eastern Division, covering Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley,

So far, eight have been arrested for offences such as conspiracy, handling stolen goods, possession or supply of drugs and driving without insurance.

They were targeted after police visited or monitored their homes in a bid to to disrupt their activities.

Police came up with the hit list after searching computer databases for the most prolific offenders who had drugs habits and lived in crime hotspot areas.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Smith said they were the criminals he most wanted to stop offending.

He added: "We said when we started this operation that we would do our utmost to arrest those responsible for crime in the area and bring them to justice.

"We have more than delivered on this pledge during the first week. We have had some amazing results but the message to criminals is loud and clear - we know who you are and we will catch you. It is only a matter of time before we come knocking on your door."

Police have also arrested 30 other people outside the top 20 during the operation through patrols in crime hotspot areas, the execution of drugs warrants and the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).

ANPR has proved particularly successful, with 18,000 number plates being read in the past week, resulting in 13 of the arrests.

Officers from the operation support unit, road policing unit and the intelligence department are working on the campaign.