RESIDENTS fed-up of boozy behaviour in their part of town are dismayed that councillors have allowed another off-licence to open.

The chain Bargain Booze has beeb given permission to open in Roe Lee House, Whalley New Road, Blackburn.

Neighbours said they were already plagued by teenage drinkers and vandalism and things look likely to get worse.

But a spokesman for Bargain Booze said they were responsible retailers with a host of schemes to combat underage drinking.

A spokesman for Roe Lee Residents' Association said: "Approximately 300 yards away we have an off-licence, a public house and a couple of hundred yards around the corner, the Co-op at Brownhill all selling alcohol. The Park Garage has also applied to sell alcohol.

"Our area is becoming only a place of takeaways and booze shops. Having already problems with youth nuisance, more places to get alcohol only adds to the problem of vandalism."

A local shopkeeper, who did not want to be named, said: "The area has had its fair share of drunken loutish behaviour and I believe it will only be worsened by the availability of more cheap alcohol.

"Roe Lee is family-oriented area with many elderly residents that are more vulnerable to the nuisance that alcohol promotes in its users."

He said the children's play area at the back of Whalley New Road was overrun by older teenagers drinking and littering the park with broken bottles and empty beer cans.

Matt Leach, of Bargain Booze, said the chain had a stringent licensing training programme for its franchisees which was recognised by the industry as one of the best. He said in the first few months of opening they will not serve anyone who looks under 21 without identification.

They also offer £200 rewards to anyone who offered information leading to the conviction of someone who bought alcohol for an under-age person.

He said: "We're responsible retailers. It's far more likely that anyone under-age would seek to buy from an independent retailer."

The application was passed by Blackburn with Darwen planning committee. A report to councillors said the application would not normally be needed but a condition had been attached on the original permission restricting the use of the unit.

It said: "It is of a size suitable for a shop within a local area and would therefore provide for the needs of local residents only. The change of use is also considered appropriate within the setting of the local area, as the previous use was also for retail and there are no residential properties immediately adjoining the site.

"There would seem to be no justifiable reason to refuse a change of use from a clothes shop to an off-licence from a planning point of view."