A LEYLAND housing estate resident is fighting to rid his area of drugs following a number of police raids.

Alan Burgess, of Queensway, Leyland, is set to co-ordinate a neighbourhood watch scheme to drive drug dealers off the Wade Hall estate.

It comes after police raided three addresses in Royal Avenue on Wednesday, February 20, and arrested seven people. A quantity of heroin was found in one of the houses.

One person is still in custody, four people are on police bail and two were cautioned for drug offences.

For the past 30 years Alan and his wife Carol have lived happily on the Wade Hall estate. It is where the couple raised their two children and the place where they intend to retire.

Now, in a bid to help police clean up the estate, Alan has signed up to be a watchdog for the estate.

"A lot of work has been done to improve the area, but I am concerned for the community," he said. "I hate the idea of drug dealers being on the estate and the thought young children may become involved.

As a grandfather-of-two, Mr Burgess, 51, became involved in the neighbourhood watch scheme a couple of years ago following door-to-door police calls to people's homes to raise awareness about crime.

Alan said: "As time went on the number of residents who attended dwindled."

This time, however, around 30 households from Queensway, Fox Lane and Wigton Avenue are involved in the scheme with dozens of other people wanting more information.

Alan distributes literature about the scheme to his neighbours as well as special security pens, so people can write down their house numbers and postcodes on their televisions, videos and other valuables to help trace them if they are stolen.

"The interest is spreading in the scheme and I hope it attracts of support."

Detective Sergeant Chris Wilde, of Leyland CID, said: "We'll do everything we can to help them."