THE beat bobby is to return to Oswaldtwistle next month, making the town the first in Hyndburn to benefit from the return of community officers.

Police Inspector Phil Cottam told residents and councillors at a meeting of Oswaldtwistle Area Council that by July 22 there would be an officer patrolling the town centre.

The move will be boosted by the presence of the mobile policing unit for one week from July 15.

"People tell me that what they want is more officers on the beat. Starting next month Oswaldtwistle will be the first area in in Hyndburn to get their community officer back," he said.

"The officer will be based around the town centre working very closely with Rhyddings High School and I'm hoping this will provide a lot of liaison, community contact, and get people back in touch with the police."

And he pledged to tackle the nuisance of youths on motorbikes plaguing the area. Hyndburn councillor Brian Walmsley told the meeting: "It's been going on for three or four years and someone is going to get hurt.

"We have kids playing on the field on motorbikes whizzing by. We do need something to be done about it."

Insp Cottam said his unit had two new off-road bikes to combat the problem, which would be working with the force helicopter as part of Operation Caretaker through the summer holidays.

"I can only urge parents whose children have got these bikes to take them off them," he said.

"At the end of the day we will end up knocking on someone's door telling them their child is either seriously injured or killed as a result of it."

Operation Caretaker, now in its second year, involves the use of Lancashire Police's force helicopter to keep an airborne eye on vandal-hit schools across the county.

Video cameras on board the helicopter record evidence relating to problems at schools which are potential targets for arsonists, vandals and other trouble-makers during the day. During the night thermal imagining equipment is used.