PEOPLE living in areas of Bolton blighted by prostitution may welcome the latest moves to get rid of kerb crawlers.

Government proposals cracking down on prostitution include the naming and shaming of those who trawl so-called red-light areas, and the loss of their driving licences.

This hardline is likely to make a difference to the generally anonymous sex trade. Unfortunately, as charities and campaigners point out, it may also have the reverse effect.

They fear that, by targeting men who pay for sex and making the transaction more difficult, they could push the trade into residential areas where prostitutes would damage community life and put residents in danger of violence, rape or murder.

Police chiefs say crackdowns on kerb crawlers in two local areas affected are already under way, and they will continue to allow support groups and charities to work with prostitutes to help them leave the sex trade.

While it makes sense to penalise kerb crawlers it is important to keep the overall picture in mind to safeguard residential areas across the borough.

Taking the fear out of hospital ANYTHING which makes hospital less frightening for children is a positive move, and a pioneering scheme run by the Royal Bolton