BURY'S new street guardians are to become film stars after being captured on camera themselves.

The town's Community Safety Wardens have been such a success that they are to show the country the way ahead.

A video of the wardens in action, and comments from the public, is being sent to Home Secretary Jack Straw who will decide whether to extend the pioneering scheme across the country.

It will also be sent to other councils and used to train more recruits to the Bury scheme which is one of only two in the country.

The scheme started seven months ago in Bury town centre, taking its recruits from the dole queue. The team has been praised for helping to reduce crime and also for reporting problems, even overflowing litter bins, to the council. Now local authority bosses are considering whether to introduce wardens to other areas of the borough.

Council leader Derek Boden said: "The scheme has proved to be a resounding success and it has impressed other local authorities up and down the country. "This has been one of our most successful pioneering projects to date. The video will hopefully convince people like the Home Secretary that Community Safety Wardens are the way forward not just for Bury but the entire country.

"We have seen that our wardens play a significant part in assisting the police to beat crime but also providing a friendly face and welcoming word to locals and visitors alike on our town centre streets."

The filming of the video was spread over two days and showed some of the normal operations carried out by the wardens.

Mr Ged McGee, warden project manager, said: "The wardens have become a common sight on our streets and are familiar with the duties expected of them.

"We have learned a lot of lessons in a very short period and others are now keen to learn from us.

"We have been contacted by a number of local authorities who are considering similar initiatives, and I am sure that they will benefit enormously from what we have done here in Bury."

Among those interviewed for the film was Mr Philip Wheelhouse, advertisement director for the Bury Times, who serves on the Bury town centre steering group.

He told the camera crew: "As the Bury Times is the voice of the town, so the wardens are its eyes and ears. They can stop a lot of things at first hand, from fly-posting to illegal street trading."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.