POLICE say they are to increase their presence in Astley Bridge after a spate of criminal damage incidents.

Officers may be in unmarked cars or plain clothes in order to try and tackle the issue, which is concentrated in the area of Hawarden Street.

Police are appealing to the public to report any incidents to them so that they can more effectively fight crime.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police Bolton North said: "Following reports of a number of Criminal Damage offences in the area of Hawarden Street, Astley Bridge, officers will be providing increased levels of presence in the area at key times.

"Officers may be patrolling on foot or in vehicles and this may include the use of plain clothes officers or unmarked vehicles.

"If you live in the area, please do not be alarmed to see an increase in police activity- we're here to help."

Cllr Hilary Fairclough has welcomes the news of increase presence.

"It’s a big job as there’s not many officers in Astley Bridge," she said.

"The difficulty is they are incredibly hard to catch. They’re not going to do it if police are around, are they?

"I’m pleased that they are taking it seriously, because residents did raise concerns that it wasn’t taken seriously.

"Whoever has done it has walked up the street and damaged a number of cars. I think this is the second times this has happened.

"The other time was in a different street nearby.

"It’s the sort of low-level crime that impacts people’s quality of life, especially with the cost-of-living crisis. It’s not fair to people."

The GMP spokesperson said: "Please ensure you report all incidents of suspicious activity via 101 or 999.

"It has also become apparent that residents have not been reporting all incidents of damage or crime to GMP. Please ensure that all incidents or offences are reported. Figures from these reports allow us to target our resources most effectively.

The Bolton News: Cllr Hilary FaircloughCllr Hilary Fairclough

"All ongoing incidents should be reported by calling 999.

"Reports of incidents that are not ongoing can be made by calling 101, via the GMP website using either the live chat function or the report it webforms."

Cllr Fairclough added: "Residents need to report every single crime.

"If people report it - and it only take a few minutes online - it becomes part of the statistics and then the police can see a spike and they say, ‘this is an issue, and we need to do something about it’.

"If you don’t report it, it isn’t seen as a problem."