A RESIDENTS' association has hit back at claims that a troubled Bolton estate is still in decline.

Many people living in the Paulhan Street area of Great Lever claim it has become a worse place to live since July when pupils at Hayward School took snapshots of vandalised buildings covered in graffiti and heaps of drug users' needles.

But Sunnyside Residents and Tenants Association says it has worked very hard to make improvements in the community and more will follow in coming months.

Eileen Barlow, chairman of the group, said members had recently improved playing fields, held many clean-up operations and organised summer school clubs.

She added: "We have also set up a Neighbourhood Warden Scheme and are waiting to see if our bid for CCTV cameras has been successful.

"Great Lever is now a targeted area and we should see around £115,000 spent on improving the area in the coming months. "People who are complaining obviously haven't been to our meetings and don't know what we are doing. More residents should get involved, the more people we have the more active we can become."

Problems with vandalism and drug users on the Paulhan Street estate have been well documented in the BEN. In the summer the pupils' photographs appeared on the front page after they presented them to the Crime, Disorder and Drugs Reference Group, hoping the council and police-led organisation would improve the situation. They took the pictures when asked by their teachers to paint a picture of where they live.

Mrs Barlow agrees that the area had hit an all time low, but said things were improving.

"It couldn't get much worse than what it was four months ago," she added. "We are very active and things will improve, but we are working to a long term plan."

The Sunnyside Residents and Tenants Association will meet on Wednesday, December 13, at the community centre on Morrison Street. All are welcome to attend.