POLICE are cracking down on gangs of drunken teenagers causing trouble around a war memorial in Horwich.

Residents living on Lever Park Avenue say they are tired of having to put up with gangs of up to 50 youths gathering at the war memorial and the bus shelter at the end of their street.

They say that members of the group - some as young as 14 - can often be seen drinking, vandalising trees and benches and dumping large quantities of rubbish.

Now, police are to start handing out Fixed Penalty Notices and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts in a bid to stop the behaviour.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: 'I am sick of this, its atrocious. They drink from big bottles of cider and are really rowdy."

She said that sometimes the anti social behaviour spilled into the streets and that some neighbours with young children had considered moving because of regular foul language.

"If you want to go out, it's frightening and intimidating.

"Its a disgrace, they just chuck all their rubbish on the floor. I dont go over there now. Its unfortunate but it puts us off."

Jack Froggatt, aged 19, who lives on the street with his parents said: "Its a nuisance because they hang around there all the time.

"Sometimes theres about 50 of them on a Friday night. They just drink and cause trouble."

Another Lever Park Avenue resident, aged 72, said that sometimes older youths would park cars on the street and play music at top volume.

"Some of the seats at the memorial have had to be taken away because theyve been broken up and vandalised.

"They have carved bark off some of the trees. They have got nothing better to do.".

Insp Simon Miskell, area police inspector for Bolton West, said: "We are taking action over the problems residents have reported at the Lever Park Avenue war memorial. Large groups of youths are using it as a hang out and there have been reports of vandalism.

"We are now starting to get the names of the kids hanging about there and we intend to start handing out Fixed Penalty Notices and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts.

"We hope this will to ease the problem for residents."