MILK deliverers across Poulton, Thornton, Cleveleys and Fleetwood are to become eyes and ears for Wyre police.

The cream of the area's dairies will today be presented with emergency mobile phones so that they can swiftly report any suspicious activity or worrying signs that someone is in trouble.

The Eyes and Ears initiative - which has never been tried before in West Lancashire - was launched by acting Inspector Paul Denny after hearing about a similar scheme with long-distance lorry drivers in Strathclyde.

Milk deliverers are ideal partners, he said, because nearly 60 per cent of common crimes like burglary, car break-ins and vandalism occur between midnight and 8am: "This has always been the time when crimes of this nature are committed mainly because there are few people around to witness or to stop this kind of activity. "Of course, milk delivery people are usually out on their rounds from as early as 4am so giving them mobile phones to report crime and suspicious activity seemed too good an opportunity to miss."

Alan Smith, of MD Foods in Bispham, one of the dairies to receive the emergency phones, said they were happy to co-operate in the Eyes and Ears initiative: "We have milkmen who've seen people in the act of breaking in, or who've spotted signs of elderly people in distress. It's good to be able to give this help to the community, it's an extension of the neighbourhood watch type of scheme."

The scheme is a joint one between the police and BT Cellnet, who supply the phones which were being presented to Chief Supt John Thompson at Fleetwood's Marine Hall on Thursday (August 26).

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