A TOWN criticised for failing to address deep-rooted segregation was today publishing its response.

Authorities in Oldham, who witnessed some of the worst racially motivated riots in the UK for 15 years, were warned in an independent report published last year that if they failed to address the near total segregation between the town's communities, worse problems were inevitable.

Today, a 106-page interim report published by Oldham Council, Greater Manchester Police and Greater Manchester Police Authority sets out the town's initial response.

Three days of running battles between white and Asian youths brought the focus of the world's media onto Oldham last May after racial tensions flared up in the run-up to the June General Election.

In December, authorities in the town were criticised by top civil servant David Ritchie for failing to deal with issues arising from segregation between its communities.

In his report, Mr Ritchie said there was a "system of separate development within the town, in which people from different ethnic backgrounds live lives largely separated from one another".

He warned that, if the problem was not addressed, it "will lead to worse developments in the future".

He added: "Segregation, albeit self-segregation, is an unacceptable basis for a harmonious community and it will lead to more serious problems if it is not tackled."

The town lacked "strategic direction and vision" and while the council had been effective at bidding for special initiatives, it had done so "without thinking how these will contribute to an overall strategy", he said.

Oldham Council broadly welcomed the report at the time but called for Government cash to help deal with the problems Mr Ritchie and his team identified.

Chairman of the local strategic partnership, Richard Knowles, said today: "While the interim response is comprehensive, it is by no means the end of the story.

"Rather it is the beginning."

"Some issues have been fairly easy to assess, others will need further consideration before we can fully respond," he added.