A PIONEERING service which helps feuding neighbours to make friends has reached a landmark.

The Bolton Neighbourhood Dispute Service has has now helped 1,000 families since it was set up six years ago.

The service has received national publicity and many similar organisations have since been set up in towns across the country.

The Bolton scheme helps all feuding neighbours, not just council tenants.

A report on the first six years of the service was presented to councillors at a housing sub committee meeting.

Sue Parry, the officer in charge of the scheme, said that 97pc of cases referred to them are now settled successfully.

She said: "A typical case is where we will perhaps have a woman on the phone in tears. Then a couple of hours later, her husband will be on the phone who is angry and ready to thump someone."

She said that they will go and visit the complainant and neighbour and they will often find there are two sides to the argument and they will get everyone to sit down together and a compromise is reached.

Sue added: "If the neighbour does not agree to see us, we usually find that the person who has made the complaint feels better by just having someone to talk to about it."

Councillors praised the project which costs around £50,000 a year to run.

Labour Cllr Mrs Margaret Clare said: "It is an excellent scheme."

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