DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott today issued a personal promise to halt the advance of the British National Party in East Lancashire by tackling poverty in the area.

Mr Prescott pledged to look at the problem of decaying housing -- cited by the Government as an underlying reasons behind the trouble which erupted into the Burnley riots last year.

He said action to stop the collapse of house values in areas such as East Lancashire was essential to stop the advance of the British National Party.

He told the Labour Conference in Blackpool: "Housing is at the top of my agenda."

And he said he was developing a radical programme on the issue with new money to regenerate rundown areas.

He said that there were different housing problems in different parts of the country, but there was a major problem in parts of The North of collapsing demand.

He said: "Streets of good post-war houses are being knocked down because there is no-one to live in them.

"People trapped in negative equity are living in rundown estates.

"And in those most vulnerable areas, unscrupulous landlords -- the new Rachmans -- are starting to appear.

"They run down the houses, they exploit loopholes in the housing benefits system to turn a profit, they rip off tenants and they rip off the public.

"And they create a breeding ground for the likes of the racist BNP.

"To those landlords, I hereby serve notice: we are going to bring your days of exploitation to an end."

As part of a "step change in housing for this country," Mr Prescott promised more cash for the worse areas of low demand in The North and new projects to build in urban areas.

And he said the existing two inspectorates for council homes and housing association properties were to be merged into a single body run by the Audit Commission.