BUSES will back on the streets of Little Hulton - more than three years after they were halted by repeated vandal attacks.

The bus route is being reintroduced thanks to a new crackdown on anti-social behaviour.

The 36 evening service, provided by First, stopped running along Kenyon Way in Little Hulton in December, 2002, after buses were targeted in a spate of missile attacks.

Buses will now begin operating on a trial basis from the end of January, following the Salford Agreement For Ensuring Safer Travel (SAFEST).

The agreement has been signed up to by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority and Executive, First, Salford City Council and the Salford Division of Greater Manchester Police. Staff at First will work with the Salford Police Neighbourhood Team, Salford City Council's Community Safety Unit and the GMPTE Crime Reduction Advisory Team.

Don Brown, Salford City Council's head of community safety, said: "This co-ordinated approach is designed to reassure people using the service. We're delighted to be able to reintroduce the number 36 and to encourage people to value public transport."

In March last year, miniature CCTV cameras were secretly placed in bus shelters in Little Hulton in a bid to curb trouble at hotspots, like Kenyon Way, where youths would often lob stones at passing busses.

There were also numerous reports of bus shelters being vandalised and drivers being verbally abused and threatened.

Cllr Eric Burgoyne, chairman of the Little Hulton Public Transport Group, which campaigned for the evening service to be reinstated, said: "This is a good example of partnership working and I would like to thank all those involved in making it possible to get this bus service back on."

Cllr Barry Warner, the Salford spokesperson for Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, said: "I'm sure that the SAFEST protocol will help to encourage people in Salford."

First's network director, Simon Bennett, said the new system would do "a lot of good" and would soon be rolled out across the whole of Salford.

Chief Superintendent Alison Fletcher, police commander for the Salford Division, said that the move would help make sure the people of Little Hulton can travel safely.

The evening service will be back from Sunday January 29.

The service already runs along Kenyon Way during the day and will continue to operate along the road every thirty minutes until 11.30pm.