CONDUCTORS on East Lancashire's trains are to be fitted with microphones disguised as badges in a bid to tackle the rising number of assaults on staff.

The microphones will be linked to a control centre, where staff will call police to the next station on the train's route when trouble breaks out.

Northern Rail bosses said it was the first time the microphones - already used by its parent company in Holland - had been issued in the UK.

Staff will also get DNA swab kits to obtain saliva if they are spat at - something which has already been tried in other areas of the country.

The move - on the Colne to Preston and Clitheroe to Bolton lines - was welcomed today by unions.

Northern's predecessor First North Western, which ran the services until late last year, reported 80 physical assaults and 60 verbal assaults on staff in 2004 - an increase on previous years.

East Lancashire was singled out by the government two years ago for cash to improve staff and customer safety.

The Clitheroe to Bolton line has also been highlighted by the Department of Transport as a priority route for work to make staff and passengers feel safer.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds was due to be spent improving safety on the line - both on carriages and at stations - until the Strategic Rail Authority pulled the plug on funding.

The Identicom system is a tiny microphone activated by staff if they are uncomfortable with a situation on the train.

A spokesman said it would be used especially on rural lines which have evening routes stopping at unmanned stations.

Andy Boyack, from the RMT union, which represents many of Northern's employees, said: "We are very pleased Northern are taking such a proactive stance on this. Staff are increasingly finding themselves being attacked by passengers.

"This should be a deterrent and also make people feel safer travelling on trains, particularly at night in areas such as East Lancashire, which have a lot of unmanned stations."

A survey carried out by Hyndburn Council in 2000 revealed that just a third of people felt safe travelling by train at night.

And Coun Jean Yates, in charge of transport at Lancashire County Council, said: "Northern are proving to be very innovative so far and I am delighted that they are taking this latest step."

Other plans Northern has put in place for 2005 include reviewing platform heights to make sure the step up on to trains isn't too great, improving station gritting arrangements and improving station lighting. A spokesman said it was too early to say whether this would benefit East Lancashire stations.