POLICE paid visits to crime hotspots and closed a premises for selling alcohol without a licence in a two-day operation to protect Bolton's most vulnerable.

Officers also visited eight known hotspots in Bolton where youths congregate in large groups, including Queens Park, Leverhulme Park and Bobby Heywood Park.

The operation, codenamed Longford, saw officers from specialist units including traffic, tactical aid and the ANPR intercept teams take to the streets in a bid to target vulnerability.

Child sexual exploitation was one of the big priorities of the nights, as police believe open spaces populated by youths drinking alcohol are areas which may be targeted by groomers.

Nine vulnerable youths were visited by police while they also checked up on 16 known offenders on Friday, May 29, and Saturday, May 30.

Police labelled the operation a success in Bolton, with five takeaways and six off-licences checked over by licensing officers.

One premises in Deane was closed by officers for selling alcohol without a licence.

Insp Paul DeVall said: "I would say it has been successful from a Bolton point of view.

"Looking at the targets we set before the operation it has been successful.

"It is about public confidence really because this is a snapshot of our daily work, but we want people to know that we are on top of issues surround vulnerable youths and anti-social behaviour that may happen at these hotspots as well."

Supt Craig Thompson said: “Safeguarding vulnerable people is an on-going priority for us which makes days of action like this so important.

"By having mechanisms in place and working alongside our partners we can ensure those at greater risk in our community are protected before the actions such as exploitation and abuse begin.

“We want Operation Longford to show our community that their safety comes first and will always be our priority. We will make use of all of our disruption tactics to put a stop to criminals.”