SO Bolton Council have been awarded Beacon status for bringing down crime rates, handing out ASBOs, and cleaning up the town. Hip! Hip! Hooray for them!

I live in Westhoughton where there was also some recent back-slapping about cutting down on under age drinking.

I really fail to see that this is true.

It is true that CCTV cameras have been placed in the town centre. True, the town centre is now free from teenage drunks. The problem is these drunken louts have moved on, they now inhabit residential areas and particularly the once beautiful land at Hall Lee Bank adjacent to Selbourne Close, Winterton Close, Cow Lees and Bolton Road.

Underage drinkers make dens in the undergrowth, like feral animals. The police have been called to my property twice in the last three weeks; once when my shed was vandalised and then when the louts pushed over a street lamp adjacent to my house.

The police said nothing could be done. All the while the drunken louts were laughing at the police, as they were hiding in their filthy dens watching.

When I approached the council, I was told that to have a community police officer assigned to the area I had to fill in an evidence sheet of incidents. The same incidents happen every Friday and Saturday night - youths run rampant, drink until they are virtually comatose, and smash their bottles and throw their cans on the floor. Come and look at the state of the area, what more evidence do you need?

There is a huge problem in Westhoughton. So, enough back-slapping. Action is what is needed!

Brenda Leman, Winterton Close, Westhoughton