POLICE are set to double up the number of beat bobbies in a troubled Hyndburn town to get to grips with louts who have terrorised resident.

Vandalism, verbal abuse and threats of violence from gangs of up to 30 youths are an unpalatable daily fact of life for people in Rishton.

Fearful residents have lost count of the number of incidents they have had to deal with including

Smashed windows

Verbal threats

Drunken behaviour when they have confronted troublemakers

Disturbingly, no one the Citizen spoke to was prepared to give their names for fear of reprisals but they confirmed problems highlighted in a recent police community forum.

And many believed the closed circuit television camera which police are to erect between the Roebuck and Walmsley pubs will do nothing to deter the troublemakers.

One shop owner, who had had his window smashed, said sometimes gangs of up to 30 drunken youths wander around the area, vandalising local businesses and terrorising people in the neighbourhood.

He said by the time police responded to calls the gang had usually dispersed, returning when officers left.

He added: "The older ones in the gang buy the alcohol and then pass it around the group. They leave lots of rubbish lying around and play football - taking no notice whether they damage property or not. I've had my window smashed and a door broken."

The youths - which some said included men in their early 20s - are often seen loitering between the local library and the health centre.

The glass windows of the library have been smashed on countless occasions and the county council have had to replace them with plastic ones to save cash.

The gang had even been spotted pulling slates from the roof of the health centre.

They were also accused of smashing the sign of the local Late Shop. An assistant there said: "They've nothing else to do at night but hang around the town centre. More security cameras should be put up to deter them."

Inspector John Pennington, of Great Harwood police, agreed that residents had had to put up with a lot in recent months.

He told the Citizen: "I agree that things could be better.

"We are putting an extra bobby on the beat in Rishton and a team of officers will be concentrating on beating the problems of this area.

"We hope that when the CCTV camera is installed between the two pubs it will modify the behaviour of these people."

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