A NEWSAGENT prosecuted for breaking the arm of teenage gang member today revealed juvenile problems have got worse, not better.

Youngsters have now started setting fire to bags of papers outside the shop of besieged Peter Bretherton, of Alder Drive, Hoghton, he claims.

Mr Bretherton was given a conditional discharge by magistrates in Chorley in August after they were told he acted out of desperation following months of problems at his newsagents in Alder Drive.

Magistrates expressed concern over the lack of support Mr Bretherton had received following a spate of incidents involving the gang, who had taken to throwing stones at his shop, the first floor of which is also his home.

Today the newsagent revealed he was still receiving no support from the police.

Now local MP Lindsay Hoyle has pledged to find out why the police are not stepping in to solve the problem, while County Councillor Tom Sharratt has also taken up the case.

When Mr Bretherton appeared before magistrates, he was told a custodial sentence was not appropriate because the bench had grave concerns about the lack of support he had received from the police.

Mr Bretherton said: "I had hoped that would be an end of it, but it is getting worse.

"They are still targeting myself and my wife.

"At weekends, I leave bags of papers out for the paperboys to pick up so I can close the shop and have some lunch.

"A group of teenagers came along and took several bags and burnt them.

"That cost me a lot of money. I rang the police by they just put it down to a prank. It just gets worse."

Coun Sharratt said: "When I heard what had happened, I visited Mr Bretherton and he raised concerns about policing in this area.

"I am due to meet with the police and will discuss this matter, and others, with them. I have also brought it to the attention of the police authority."

Mr Hoyle said: "I am concerned about the level of policing in Hoghton and I am worried that this matter has not improved.

"It seems the police are failing Hoghton and leaving shopkeepers vulnerable.

"Action needs to be taken to stop attacks on property but people should not take matters into their own hands."

Mr Bretherton is one of three men to be shown sympathy by Lancashire magistrates this year in cases where the defendants have felt they had no choice but to take matters into their own hands.

In the summer, Longridge man Michael Charnley was given a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to assaulting a 19-year-old who had thrown his six-year-old son into a nettle bush.

And on Wednesday, an assault charge against Blackburn man Edward Coker was dropped after a court was told his family had endured a 12-month onslaught from yobs on the Shadsworth estate.

He was bound over in the sum of £50 to keep the peace.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police would only say today about Mr Bretherton's claim: "Overall, we regularly receive reports of nuisance where young people gather, outside local shops for instance, and we try to problem solve these difficulties in partnership with shop-keepers, the community and the police."