A NEW partnership has been formed to combat racism in Hyndburn.

Hyndburn Against Racism is made up of Hyndburn Council, Lancashire Police, Lancashire Youth Services, the Asian Community Forum, the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Bangladesh Welfare Association and the Church of England.

Each group has signed a contract pledging to commit themselves to combating racism in the borough.

A spokesman for the organisation said: "They accept the racism affects the very fabric of society and fully acknowledge that in order to deal effectively with the needs of victims of racism and target the offenders we must act together, sharing resources and information."

The organisations will form a Racist Incident Working Group, engage in joint training, share resources and nominate reporting centres when victims can give details of offences to trained staff.

Member groups will also accept the Lawrence Inquiry definition of a racist incident as "an incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or by any other person."