THE Accrington Road area of Burnley is like a war zone. We live, eat and very rarely sleep, anti-social behaviour 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Most of the residents feel no-one is doing anything about it or even cares. We hear that money is being targeted in South West Burnley for deprived, under-privileged families. So why have we got children who are excluded from school, running wild day after day?

These children are our future. They have issues boiling away inside and their only outlet is to cause mayhem in the streets.

And it is not only children. We have a big problem with adults. They are even more anti-social. Often it is those doing the damage and the children who get the blame.

We have hundreds of inadequately boarded-up properties which are easy to get into. Both adults and children break in and if there's nothing of value to steal, they smash it up or, even worse, they set fire to it.

We now have a new way of house-breaking, very inventive -- they come through the wall of an empty property. And, of course, no one hears or sees anything.

Passing the buck has got to stop. It has been passed that many times, it's met itself coming back.

As one of the ordinary members of the community, I was involved in the consultation process for the bid to get funding from Single Regeneration Budget Round 6.

Over the past three years I have attended numerous meetings and conferences regarding who/what/why/where this round of funding will be used.

Well, we are just over the three-year mark and we're still waiting.

Houses have been demolished. Thirty or so have had minimum face-lifting. The Primary Care Trust has done a magnificent job of turning the old Tay Street Nursery into a health centre. But once again the original plan to turn that corner of Accrington Road into a showcase has been reviewed, as the council have, as yet, not fulfilled their part of the plan for the Home zone.

This would have at least been something to show for all the hours spent in meeting after meeting. it would also have been an inspiration to the town.

There are a couple of 'buzz word' phrases in Burnley: 'Raising Aspirations' and 'Not Set in Stone.' Over the past three years residents in the Accrington Road Focus Area have without doubt had their aspirations raised, but when trying to get an answer as to when promises that have been made in all these meetings are going to come to fruition, the reply is, decisions are 'Not set in stone.'

I left school at 15 without a certificate or qualification to my name, but you don't need any to know when your being side-stepped, paid lip service, whatever you like to call it. If we cannot get the little things, right what chance have we to fulfil the raised aspirations of the town?

Name and address received.