RESIDENTS in Rossendale have been urged to voice their opinions and play their part in helping police tackle crime in the valley.

The plea came during an open forum held by community beat bobby Clare Foster on Thursday night.

PC Foster was horrified to find just six people had turned up to air their views.

Inspector Richard Clare said the community must help drive down crime.

He said: "We have noted a 12 per cent increase in reported crime since last year, which we have put down to Clare being in place. It may sound bad but it is just a reflection on Clare's presence.

"We want more people to come and see her and let her know what is going on in their area because that is what she is here for. Her surgeries are also very poorly attended and we want to do something about this.

"The meeting with Clare last week just shows that people either can't be bothered to help make improvements to their community or are afraid of speaking to us and I don't want this to be the case.

"If people do not want these forums or feel there are better ways to communicate then they should tell us so that we can arrange alternatives and perhaps strike a different way of corresponding with the public.

"People complain time and time again that the police need to do more but if we don't receive the help of the public then it makes our job even harder. If people do not come and tell us about their problems then we can't do anything about them.

"Just last week I received a letter complaining about juvenile nuisance saying the police should be doing more, but there was no name or address so I couldn't contact them to follow up their complaint."

And with the news that Bacup is set to receive a new state-of-the-art £500,000 police station, Insp Clare said people should feel more confident than ever that that the police are there to serve the community.

"The new police station will mean more officers are on the streets and visible to the public so I would urge them to talk to officers and tell them what is going on."

If people have any concerns about crime in their area or have any ideas on how to make improvements in their community then they can contact Insp Clare on 01706 237634 or ring PC Foster direct on 01282 472969.