THEFTS from houses in South West Burnley have dropped by 87 per cent since the introduction of a new crime-cracking campaign.

Five months ago, Safer Cities, the crime prevention partnership, launched its successful burglary reduction scheme in the area and police figures from April to August show a 32 per cent drop recorded crime.

Burglaries were down seven per cent and stealing from houses 87 per cent.

The scheme was piloted in the Burnley Wood area and South West Burnley - Stoops and Hargher Clough - was chosen as the next area because over the past four years crime and burglary has risen in that area at a rate not seen elsewhere.

Homes in the area where there is a burglary or attempted burglary reported are eligible for a security package.

Other schemes have also been introduced including postcoding of property, activity based workshops for young people, drugs education and loaning mobile phones to protect witnesses of crime.

Coun Kath Reade, chairman of the safer cities steering committee, said: "It is very encouraging to see that once again out investment in community safety is beinging real benefits to the people of Burnley.

"It is early days yet, so we'll have to wait a bit longer to see how we can build on this success. Partnership between the council and the police is having a real impact on crime in Burnley."

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