A HANDFUL of hardened criminals commit one out of four crimes in Pendle, and in one town just three people carried out 20 per cent of all offences, it has been revealed.

Figures show that in the year to the end of March 1998 the trio carried out 99 crimes in Barnoldswick.

A hard core of 23 offenders in Nelson and 15 in Colne carried out one in four of the towns' crimes.

On a wider scale, 60 per cent of all crimes in Pendle were committed by 333 repeat offenders.

Drug use in the borough is three times the national average, according to the University of Manchester Drug Misuse Research Unit, which is quoted in the report.

The figures were revealed in the anti-crime strategy A Safer Pendle, published in consultation with local organisations, community groups, agencies such as social services, education and the probation service, and local people. The aim was to highlight the good and the bad news on crime and use the figures to help tackle crime in the next three years and beyond.

The document reveals 6,454 crimes were reported to the police in the past 12 months, a rate of 7.58 crimes per 100 residents, one of the lowest in Lancashire.

Most offences were on the decline, apart from criminal damage, up 14 per cent on the previous year.

The cost of tackling crime was put at just over £3 million.

The worst wards for crimes in terms of numbers were Vivary Bridge, Colne, and Bradley, Nelson.

More than one in four offenders were under 18 and two-thirds of offenders under 25. Three out of five offenders were unemployed.

An action plan has come out of the strategy. This includes tackling domestic burglaries and car crime and increasing public confidence over domestic violence and racial harassment.

Dr Ikram Malik, chairman of the Pendle Community Safety Partnership, said: "We have looked at detailed police figures for reported crime and other statistics in an attempt to get at the underlying causes.

"Crime can only be tackled effectively by agencies working together and working for the community. It is important therefore that these initiatives continue to have the support of local people."

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