LABOUR has failed to protect Bury folk from crooks because it doesn't spend enough fighting crime.

So says John Walsh, prospective Tory Parliamentary candidate, adding that there are fewer police officers to deal with high local crime.

He says Audit Commission figures show there are just 2.6 policemen for every 1,000 residents in Greater Manchester.

This one of the lowest ratios of any metropolitan force, yet the region has the highest level of reported crime and the lowest clear-up level of any force in the country.

Councillor Walsh will take on Bury North MP David Chaytor at the next General Election. He says the Home Secretary has finally admitted that police numbers have fallen since 1997, and the extra 5,000 officers that Jack Straw promised last year will only bring levels back to what they were three years ago.

"The number of police has fallen and crime in Greater Manchester is the worst in the country," he said.

"The fault lies not with the police. The truth is, Labour has failed Bury on law and order. The Government must commit more resources to fighting crime."