TELEVISION licence dodgers face a tough time as licensing bosses launch a major crackdown in Blackburn and Burnley.

And a spokesman for TV Licensing said there would be nowhere for dodgers to hide.

The month-long clampdown, starting next week, will target homes where there is no record of a licence being held.

It aims to boost the regular checks carried out by the licensing authority throughout the year. The spokesman said: "We have a database of 26 million addresses and we pick out the properties that have no record of being licensed.

"Our enquiry officers will then knock on those doors.

Anyone without a licence faces being fined up to £1,000."

The crackdown follows an awareness campaign aimed at East Lancashire's ethnic minorities.

Leaflets explaining the regulations in languages other than English were distributed to community centres and meetings were held with community leaders.

The spokesman said: "There was a concern that certain members of the population were not aware of the regulations so we wanted to raise awareness."

Information on TV licences is available by ringing 0990 763763.

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