A CRIME audit conducted by an East Lancashire council and police has revealed that efforts to cut crashes and car crime are working.

Blackburn with Darwen Council teamed up with Lancashire Police to undertake the study, which it is obliged to do every three years to make sure the authorities are tackling the problems local people are most concerned about.

The audit will help shape the way the area is policed until 2005 and what support will be provided by the council.

It also revealed that increased policy and better use of resources has led to a reduction in the perceived amount of anti-social behaviour.

The audit also saw a rise in the number of people who said they felt safe walking alone on the streets at night.

Earlier this year, people were asked to make their views known on what aspects of crime concerned them most.

The figures were compared with the last audit, carried out in 1999.

While all councils must help undertake the survey, the results are of particular importance to Blackburn with Darwen Council because of their Public Service Agreement with the government.

For every one of 13 targets the council meets by 2004, the government will award the authority around £275,000.

Along with reducing the number of people in nursing homes and decreasing the number of teenage pregnancies, council officials must also help reduce car accidents by 25 per cent.

Council Leader Bill Taylor said: "I welcome the findings of this audit which reveal that much of the work carried out by the council in partnership with the police is beginning to bear fruit.

"I am particularly pleased with the 21 per cent reduction in serious road accidents since the council took control of the highways."

"We have put a lot of effort into this and targeted resources at problem areas and I am delighted that these figures show this strategy is having a positive effect."

Chief Inspector, Mick Gledhill, in charge of crime and disorder for Eastern Division, said: "We are pleased with the findings of the audit."