THEIR mission sounds simple -- to help people to help themselves.

In reality, the task they face is anything but. They are the latest residents of Little Hulton's troubled Kenyon Way estate and are charged with transforming its future and the future of its people. Paul Britton reports

KENYON Way estate, nestling on the edge of Salford's border with Bolton, is to benefit from three extra Neighbourhood Liaison Workers, bringing its total number to five. No other area or estate in Salford has more.

The new kids on the block hope to become an integral part of the community, boosting spirit and offering residents a helping hand with all sorts of their problems.

The estate is making headlines for the wrong reasons. Key bus services were taken off the road and re-routed after 6pm after vandals hurled bricks at them. A fire engine returning from a 999 call also had its windscreen smashed by yobs throwing stones.

Now, as revealed in the Bolton Evening News on Saturday, fire crews are to double-up to all call-outs after a further spate of stone throwing. They say they will not hesitate to call in the police for back-up.

And it is exactly these images that the Neighbourhood Liaison Team are hoping to wipe out -- although their job extends much further than that.

It is a job that they are looking forward to with determination -- and beaming smiles on their faces.

The six-strong team are not police officers. They do not have the power to make arrests. Nor are they council enforcers or token gestures to appease a community who have long-suffered at the hands of the mindless minority.

The wardens have a vast array of duties, which include:

Recording and reporting environmental and other types of nuisance and Crime.

Assisting the elderly.

Helping residents with disabilities and people from minority ethnic communities.

Checking empty properties.

Reporting problems to relevant authorities.

Promoting the Crimestoppers hotline and issuing crime prevention advice.

Tackling graffiti and street lighting.

Checking ringing house alarms.

Launching community, youth and sporting events.

And as their colourful brochure says, they are there to help "create a safe, happy and attractive neighbourhood for people to live, work and visit."

Neighbour Liaison Officer Karl Elliot, aged 31, has lived in Salford all his life. He is one of the two current workers and is looking forward to the challenge -- and working with his new colleagues.

Karl said: "We have leafleted three-quarters of the estate and we were told that 40 per cent of the people knew who we were. That is very encouraging indeed.

"We are part of the community and we are here for the community. We are also much more than a link to the police or the council. Put simply, we are ordinary people who understand the problems of ordinary people.

"The whole aspect of it is that we do not impose things on the community.

"We will ask people what they want, then help them to set it up before leaving it in their hands.

"It is also important for people out there to know that we are here for them. After all, we are here to help people to help themselves and that is the main thing."

The posts are paid-for positions. Bosses look to recruit local people who know and love the area as workers. The Little Hulton team has actually studied the area's history.

They patrol the streets and have walkie-talkies to touch base with each other. Dressed in their casual blue and red uniforms, they will respond to queries or incident when and where they occur.

The estate includes more than 1,000 homes -- a mix of council-owned and rented properties -- and a wide variation of residents, from the elderly to teenagers.

"It is a large estate and the sheer volume of work, and its diverse nature, will be huge," added Karl.

"Obviously it has its fair share of problems, as every area in the country does and that reflects on why we have more workers here than anywhere else.

Karl says he has seen a big improvement in the estate since the scheme began in mid-December. He said: "There is less graffiti, fewer potholes and more street lighting. But our aims are to strive for further improvements."

Ask Karl what his goals for the estate are, and his answers are clear. But achieving them will always depend on help from residents and the whole community.

"We are building strong links with the community and strong links with other agencies," he said.

"On the ground, we are also getting to know people on a first name basis. There are people knocking at our door all the time.

"Youths have called for us and we have ended up playing snakes and ladders with them

"Things like that is the way to get to know people in the community and build trust. But it is much more than that.

"I would like to see a reduction in crime and fewer empty properties. I would like to build on the excellent spirit that already exists here. I also want us to be excepted by the local community.

"We want everybody to come and speak to us and make us aware of their problems.

Critics will say that the workers face an uphill struggle which will only get steeper in time.

Then again, they will never know until they try...

The team is based at 19 New Leicester Way. Call 0161 790 8441 for details.