FIFTY houses across Greater Manchester, including six in Bolton and one in Bury, were raided on Wednesday by police investigating people suspected of downloading indecent images of children from the internet.

The search warrants were executed at 7am and 45 arrests were made.

More than 500 officers were involved in the raids as part of Operation Baglan. Computer equipment was seized and will be examined.

Det Supt Steven Heywood said: "Officers have been gathering information on the suspects for a number of weeks.

"We have the country's leading unit and, as this operation shows, we are robust in our quest to protect the public."

The suspects have been traced through electronic footprints they have left while accessing images.

The images are believed to involve all levels of indecent pictures, including some known as "level 5 sites", the most serious rating.