THREE of Bolton's most deprived estates are to see a massive clean-up campaign to brush away the squalor and polish up the quality of life.

Johnson Fold, Oldhams and Hall i'th' Wood will all benefit from Bolton Council's Street Works Initiative which will lead to hundreds of thousands of pounds being pumped into the neighbourhoods.

Each will notice all aspects of their environment improved, in a range of measures from CCTV to scrubbing away graffiti.

They are the first areas to benefit from the pilot project, which, it is hoped, will extend to other parts of the borough. The Street Works Initiative is a joint programme between the housing and environment services costing hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The cash will come from various sources including the departments' budgets and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund grant.

Executive member for Housing Cllr Noel Spencer said he was delighted with the initiative.

"There have been high levels of poverty and deprivation in those areas for 20 years. The fact that we can begin to help people get out of that cycle is something I am proud of.

"It is our absolute determination that these standards will rise considerably and there will be massive improvements for those people who live there."

But Westhoughton Town Council leader David Wilkinson said it had taken too long.

"I welcome the scheme but these problems are all over the borough. If people see it being done and recognise the areas are looking better they will rightly want their neighbourhood to have the same.

"A lot of this should have been done a long time ago and many tenants have been asking for it for a very long time. It has taken 20 years for common sense to sink in."

work is set to start on February 25. THREE teams will carry out and oversee the following works:

Gardens will be cleared and of 17 empty properties on Johnson Fold will be tidied along with eight on Oldhams and 40 derelict homes on Hall i'th' Wood estates.

Litter bins will be placed near to all schools and shops.

Abandoned land will be cleared and areas will be weeded.

There will be extra street lighting and security lights erected.

All graffiti will be removed.

A garden fencing programme will see dilapidated and fallen fencing replaced.

There will traffic calming schemes and estate redesign works.

Abandoned and burnt out cars will be removed within 15 days.

All fly-tipping will be dealt with within five working days

There will be regular grass cutting and litter clearance

Some streets will have CCTV security cameras to help residents feel safer.