A new service has been launched for tenants in Chorley so they can report incidents of nuisance and anti-social behaviour in the evenings and at weekends.

The new phone in service has been launched by Chorley Community Housing (CCH) for its tenants and leaseholders so that they can report incidents as and when they happen, even if the offices are closed.

All the information will be logged by operators answering the calls and will be forwarded to CCH to be dealt with when the office re-opens.

The telephone helpline has been introduced as a service improvement for CCH customers.

Before the service started people could telephone and leave a recorded message about incidents, but were not able to speak to anyone in person.

Sharon Simmonds, Director of Customer and Neighbourhood Services said: "This new service will be better for our customers because they will be able to speak to someone to give detailed information.

"They will also be guided through a series of questions to make sure that we have everything we need to deal to the complaint.

"They won't have to worry about forgetting any information or if the call has been properly recorded.

"For us having accurately timed and logged calls can be important in any future action we might take, including going to court."

The service is intended to deal with routine incidents.

Any that involve violence or racist abuse should continue to be reported directly to the police.

The new telephone service is part of CCH's commitment to tackle nuisance and anti social behaviour.

Since setting up in 2007, it has formed a specialist ASB team and bought sound monitoring equipment and CCTV which can be installed in neighbourhoods to gather evidence.

The new telephone number is 0845 337 1689 and operates from 5pm to 9am, at weekends and bank holidays.