TWO areas of an East Lancashire town are to have £750,000 spent on them to make their streets safer for residents.

The government cash will be used in Queen’s Park and Audley, Blackburn, to prevent violence against women and girls in public, neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour.

The money comes Whitehall's Safer Streets fund.

It follows a similar £423,000 initiative in Whalley Banks and Wensley Fold.

The new cash follows a successful bid by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and the Pennine Community Safety Partnership for cash from the latest £50million allocation of grants across England and Wales.

Queen’s Park and Audley were chosen after careful and thorough assessment of crime statistics for the borough.

Projects will include rolling out extra CCTV and street-lighting in communities and expanding work to change attitudes and behaviours and prevent these crimes happening in the first place.

Cllr Zamir Khan, Blackburn with Darwen's assistant executive member for public health, prevention and wellbeing, said: "I’m pleased that the council is to receive this much-needed funding that will help to make our streets safer for residents.

"Queen’s Park and Audley will see improvements and additions made over the next 12 months that will improve the quality of life for communities there.

"It’s hugely important to us that everyone feels safe and welcome in their hometown, and this funding will allow us to ensure that’s the case."

Mark Aspin, the council's head of service for community safety, housing and vulnerable people, said: "To receive a second round of funding from Safer Streets is fantastic.

"In our bid submission, we worked closely with the Pennine Community Safety Partnership to identify areas of Blackburn with Darwen that needed the additional funding most.

"From this work, it was decided to focus within the Audley and Queen’s Park areas, in the hope of making the biggest difference.

"We look forward to working closely with the communities here to make Blackburn a safer place for all."

The previous Safer Streets grant for Blackburn of £423,000 was used in Whalley Banks and Wensley Fold for improving properties and making them more secure, installing new CCTV, cleaning-up and enhancing green spaces, gating alleyways and upgrading street lighting.