POLICE netted a major haul of stolen property in a massive crime blitz in Blackburn. During the three-week exercise, code-named Operation Echo, more than £27,000 worth of property was recovered and 628 crimes cleared up.

A team of 55 police officers, including men from the Crime Support Unit and the Operation Support Unit, interviewed 122 people, the majority of whom were charged with offences.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.