BURNLEY's police chief today warned that a minority of troublemakers were undermining efforts to harmonise the town in the wake of the Burnley riots.

Superintendent Steve Hartley said communities, both Asian and white, were affected by small numbers who threatened attempts to improve community unity and affected peoples' quality of life.

He said the threat existed on several levels from anti-social behaviour to organised crime and that police, along with the help of the community, were doing all they could to stamp it out.

His comments have been backed by community leaders, who said they were working closely with police to clamp down on violence and anti-social behaviour.

Strenuous efforts have been made to improve community cohesion and tackle petty crime since the disorder which rocked the town in June 2001 and the subsequent Task Force report.

Supt Hartley spoke out following a series of serious incidents in the town, including an attack on a teenage car driver and the weekend discovery of a firearm as part of an alleged gang dispute.

Four men and a teenager appeared in court earlier this week on charges of conspiring to commit violence.

And four members of a group calling themselves the Bengali Boys also appeared at court where they were given interim Anti Social Behaviour Orders after magistrates heard they had made the lives of communities in Stoneyholme and Daneshouse a misery. Ten others are also facing similar action.

Supt Hartley said: "There are a small number of people in both white and Asian communities who are intent on causing trouble for a variety of reasons.

"The vast majority of law abiding people do not want these troublemakers in their communities as they are having an impact on both cohesion issues and the quality of peoples' lives."

He said he had received a letter from one community leader expressing concern that the minority would stop people moving into the area and would make business think twice about relocating.

Supt Hartley added: "The problems exist on a number of levels and we have to make sure we tackle all of them.

"First there are those engaged in anti-social behaviour, then there are the minor criminals who may be involved in drug running, for example, and thirdly there are those involved in organised criminality.

"The problems cross all boundaries and all communities and we will not shirk in our efforts to tackle them. People have seen and will see in the future what we are doing to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour."

One example of police action is the recently launched Operation Freelander which has seen large numbers of police on the streets in Daneshouse and Stoneyholme.

A former Mayor of Burnley, Rafique Malik, ward councillor for Daneshouse and Stoneyholme, said: "There is a tiny minority of people in both white and Asian communities who are causing an awful lot of problems. I fully support the police action to try to deal with this, but I also feel we have a moral responsibility to give time and resources to work with young people from all communities so we can try to avoid some of these problems occurring."