VULNERABLE elderly people who are deliberately targeted by crooks need to be protected more by their local community, people in Lancashire told a national survey.

The poll, commissioned by insurance company General Accident, shows that 69 per cent of people in the county believe pensioners lack support in the fight against crime.

And 93 per cent said neighbours should set up a support network to make them less vulnerable.

The vast majority of people questioned believed that a decline in moral values was to blame for an increase in crime over the last 30 years.

They said that young people needed to be involved in the community in order to develop a sense of good citizenship.

And they recognised the powerful role Neighbourhood Watch could play in crime prevention. The country was split into nine regions for the survey, which was conducted among more than 1,000 people aged over 16 in March.

General Accident, which spends £1 million a year boosting the work of Neighbourhood Watch, is now hosting 42 crime-check meetings across the country to discuss the implications of the survey.

One of the meetings is to be held at Wellington Park, Leyland, on Tuesday, starting at 7pm.

Representatives from the police, local authorities and 200 Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators, representing around 40,000 households across the county, will vote on initiatives to help reduce the fear of crime.

The results of the roadshow will be passed to the Home Office, the Association of Chief Constables and the National Neighbourhood Watch Association.

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