VANDALS left their own shocking calling card after 84-year-old Gladys Ainscow died. They trashed her home.

Gladys, who lived in Boston Street, Halliwell, was one of the oldest residents living on her estate and was known as someone who kept herself to herself.

She died in hospital following an illness.

Within three weeks, vandals kicked down her back door, smashed all the windows, wrecked her furniture and scattered her possessions over the floor.

Kevin Charnock, chairman of the Brooklyn Street Residents Association, said: "It's terrible to think that people would do this to the house of an old lady.

"She kept herself to herself. I only knew her by sight, but it's shocking to see all her things thrown around and trashed, it's a real mess."

Residents say the area is blighted by vandals who regularly break into empty houses.

"We have had to put up with this for years. Houses become empty and are not boarded up properly and they end up as dumping grounds or haunts for druggies," said Mr Charnock.

The houses on the estate are either private or owned by landlords.

One house in Clyde Street, owned by David James Estates in Chorley Old Road, has a backyard full of litter bags and rubbish and inside the house is piled with smashed furniture.

A spokesman for the company said: "We have arranged for people to go around and board it up, but people just keep ripping it down.

"The house is going to be done up. It hasn't escaped our attention, but we haven't got a time scale at the moment."

The council is not responsible for the upkeep of privately-owned homes, but it does have to investigate environmental health problems.

A council spokesman said: "Our procedures for dealing with empty properties is to contact the owner and ask them to board up the property. If that is not done, we will board it up within 24 hours.

"If a house is being used by drug users or children or is a potential arson risk and the owner is known, we will try to contact them.

"We were not aware of what had happened at Boston Street, although we have had a complaint about Clyde Street in the past.

"Now we are aware of these properties, we will look at them in line with our policy."

Are you a relative of Mrs Ainscow? If so, contact the Bolton Evening News newsdesk on 01204 537270.