POLICE say the late-night weekend bus service from Manchester to Bolton has helped bring peace to the city centre.

Officers claim the service, which is celebrating its first anniversary, has stopped violence breaking out at overcrowded taxi ranks in the early hours.

The No 8 runs from Manchester Piccadilly to Bolton every 30 minutes between half past midnight and 3.30am, every Friday and Saturday night, priced at £2.50 for any destination.

The 'Nightbus' network was set-up as part of Greater Manchester Police's City Centre Safe campaign, which was aimed at reducing alcohol related violence.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) agreed to pilot a network of seven subsidised services for 10 months, in the hope that they would prove successful enough for the bus operators to run them commercially.

One year on, six of the Saturday services are now run on a commercial basis.

City Centre Safe co-ordinator Insp Steve Greenacre said: "As part of our campaign we reviewed all aspects of city centre life from licensing to safety glass and from CCTV to the transport infrastructure.

"It quickly became apparent that one of the flash-points for violence was on a Friday and Saturday night when the pubs and clubs closed and approximately 100,000 visitors struggled to get home.

"Clubbers, fuelled by alcohol, were fighting at taxi ranks and stepping out into traffic in a desperate bid to find a lift."

He added: "The problem was that there just weren't enough taxis to go round and at the time there was no other alternative to get home."

Since its launch last year, more than 100,000 passenger journeys have been made on the new night buses.

They travel along popular routes and depart from busy locations protected by additional security, street lighting and CCTV.

The service runs from Piccadilly stand P and picks up at the following bus stops; SN on Oxford Street (near the cinema), stand WD in Albert Square (near the Town Hall), stop CY in Cross Street (near the Royal Exchange) and NP in Corporation Street (outside Urbis).

It then follows the daytime route of the service via Blackfriars Bridge, Pendlebury and Farnworth to Bolton.

The Bolton to Manchester service leaves at 11.45pm and every 30 minutes until 2.45am.