RESIDENTS whose lives used to be blighted by crime and anti-social behaviour have given their backing to a new "shop a yob" hotline.

An actionline was launched on Thursday in Bolton for residents to give confidential information on louts and vandals, causing misery in their community.

People living in The Haulgh, which used to be one of the worst affected areas in the town, are now urging others to help in the fight against anti-social behaviour by reporting incidents or giving the names of people causing problems.

In just three years, they have successfully transformed their community.

The Haulgh used to be the centre of the red light district in Bolton and was plagued by drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes.

Residents decided they had had enough and formed the Haulgh Community Partnership aimed at tackling the problems alongside the police and council.

They claim they are winning the battle to rid the area of prostitutes and pimps, house prices have risen and it is now an attractive place to live.

On-street drinking has been banned and schemes to crackdown on rogue landlords are proving effective.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have also been used to target individuals and telephone boxes - which were used by prostitutes and pimps - have been removed.

The partnership even set up its own hotline - 01204 481893 -and it still in use today for residents living in the area.

Dave Morgan, chairman of the partnership, said communities in other areas can have the same success if they work together against the yobs.

He said: "It was about persistence and the logging of information about incidents. We kept on and on at the authorities until they listened to us and diligently kept an up-to-date log of everything that was going on.

"We also had to understand that people had different perspectives. Obviously the problems were our top priority but not necessarily for the police or the council. But by working together, the area has been transformed.

"It has given people tremendous pride in their community, from all sections of the community and we want everyone to just live and work together."

Supt Dave Flitcroft from Bolton Police, said: "We would encourage all members of the community to use the new hotline.

"It really represents a great opportunity for us to work together to tackle anti-social behaviour.

"It will reassure people that we are taking the matter seriously and their calls will be dealt with."

l The "shop a yob" hotline is 0845 605 222.