BUS company bosses have asked for police to be placed on vehicles working "problem" routes in a bid to stamp out trouble.

The move is part of the pioneering scheme where beat bobbies use Blackburn Transport buses to get to their patch from their town centre base next to the railway station.

The partnership has been in operation for over a month, and both parties say it has been a success.

However, Blackburn Transport wanted to develop the link-up.

They asked the beat bobbies if they would ride on other routes where drivers were experiencing problems. Managing director Michael Morton said: "This has been very successful and stopped problems quickly.

"We are extremely pleased with the way it is working out.

"The travelling public see the police riding and it has added to their security.

"We have CCTV on a lot of our buses, but the police add to that and make people feel a lot safer.

"It is difficult to quantify how much trouble has been reduced, but certainly when we have had problems the police have responded quickly and rode on the buses."

The beat bobbies were reintroduced in January after a six-year absence in Blackburn to reassure the public and solve long-term nuisance problems.

Because they are not using patrol cars, the link up with Blackburn Transport was organised to transport officers from the town centre police station to their patch.

The bobbies, provided they are in uniform, can board for free at any point on the company's network.

PS Paul Goodall, who is co-ordinating the community beat managers, said: "It works both ways. It has given us a degree of visibility to the public and given reassurance to the passengers and the company itself.

"We have had incidents of vandalism and damage to buses. They asked for officers on specific routes, as and when needed.

"Drivers sometimes stop as they drive past an officer and ask them to come on board."

PS Goodall is negotiating with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council for the beat bobbies to use its leisure and social facilities as their neighbourhood bases.

It is expected to be finalised in the next month.