"BETTER a fence at the top of the cliff than an ambulance at the bottom".

That's the aim of the Children's Fund, which could give £1.8 million to Bury to prevent children getting into trouble.

The money would also be spent on schemes to improve their health and get them to play a fuller part in community life.

Social services bosses are drawing up a bid for the Government cash. If successful, they will receive £600,000 a year from next April to 2006.

The fund will set up services for those aged from five to 13-years-old with the emphasis on prevention rather than cure.

It aims to bridge the gap between the Sure Start and Connexions projects, which look after 0-4 year olds and 13-19-year-olds respectively.

Targets include: reducing truancy, school exclusion and youth crime; improving education performance and health; and getting children, in conjunction with their families, to help design and ultimately use a range of services.

Some of the money will be spent on borough-wide themes, while some will be targeted at vulnerable children in the most deprived wards.