BOLTON police chiefs have drawn up battle plans to fight young muggers who target other children.

Senior officers have unveiled plans as part of a new initiative, 'Operation Hawk', to fight back against street robbers in the town.

Today Supt Don Brown, of Bolton Central, admitted that the vast majority of incidents reported were of attacks by children on children.

He said: "The figures indicate that our biggest problem is teenage robbers targeting their peer group."

Now Bolton officers are set to invest a "significant" slice of Government cash to address the problem, with statistics for four sub divisions across the GMP region showing 48pc of robbery victims were aged from under 10 to 18.

The release of the figures comes just weeks after police launched a high profile operation following a spate of reports that youths were robbing other youngsters at Bolton's Moor Lane Bus Station.

Just days ago, the BEN revealed that members of a new Youth Crime Prevention Panel had highlighted their worries of street crime at a recent induction meeting.

The area around the Water Place swimming baths has also been identified as a robbery hotspot.

The extra cash -- part of an additional £3.2 million awarded by the Home Office to GMP to reduce street robberies -- will see more frontline officers on the beat, undercover operations and CCTV footage used to address the issue.

The aim is to reduce the number of street robberies in the town by a fifth over the next five years, with 200,000 extra policing hours force-wide being pumped into the project.

Police chiefs blame the increase in street robberies in Bolton on a number of factors, including greater home security which has forced would-be burglars into street crime.

Cash rewards for street robbers have also increased, and a large proportion of the crimes are now aimed at stealing of mobile phones, with much of the stolen property easily disposed of.

Now Mr Brown is urging townsfolk to help in the fight against the muggers. He added: "I'm looking at a constructive co-ordinated approach to impact on the number of robbers, and ultimately make Bolton a safe place for the community.

"I would urge young people, teachers, and parents, with any ideas they may have regarding potential hot-spot areas or preventative measures to contact us."

Anyone who feels they may be able to help should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. THE launch comes as detectives continue their search for three young robbers who set upon a Bolton schoolboy.

Their 14-year-old victim was forced to hand over a £20 wallet containing £9 in cash after he was threatened by the trio who wielded a knife.

The attack came when the teenager was approached by the three youths at 4.45pm on last Tuesday at the bus-rail interchange on Newport Street, Bolton.

One of the offenders was white, 5ft 1ins to 5ft 2ins tall and between 14 and 16, of a slim build with blonde hair. He was wearing a white cap, blue top and black bottoms.

One of his accomplices was also white with blonde hair and wore a green top and black bottoms. There was no description available for the third gang member. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.