COMMUNITY spirit is alive and well in Great Lever, where police, fire and council officers joined forces to tackle crime and arson.

The authorities teamed up to take part in a "beat sweep" to clear litter and graffiti, make homes safer and brighten up the neighbourhood.

Police have been talking to people in the area about their concerns and targeting known offenders as part of the week-long operation.

Meanwhile, Bolton Council placed skips in five locations around the streets to allow people to get rid of junk without having to go to the tip. Collection teams picked up bulkier items.

Enforcement officers are working through around 100 places where they are cleaning graffiti from walls.Street cleaners have been cleaning up litter and dog mess, cutting grass in public areas.

Assistant divisional fire officer for Bolton Gary Bailey said the action would help prevent nuisance fires which plague the area.

"Great Lever is problem area for rubbish fires and people setting fire to derelict property or abandoned cars, so we are trying to physically improve the area.

"We're also carrying out spot-checks on businesses to make sure people are safe at work and doing free home fire risk assessments."

Fire and council officers have been working together to ensure people store their wheelie bins in safe places. Council enforcement officers have issued dozens of notices warning householders who left their bin out on non-collection days that they could face £100 fixed penalties if they are caught again.

Dealing with each bin fire costs the council around £1,900 but Mr Davies said the consequences can be much worse than financial. "A wheelie bin can cause a tremendous amount of damage.

"It can be potentially fatal because smoke from a wheelie bin is highly toxic and if they are put against a back door or window they can stop people from getting out of a house."

Great Lever councillor Ansar Hussain said: "Litter is a big problem here so it's good to see this action being taken and I hope it will be repeated in the future. Great Lever is one of the 50 most deprived areas of the country so people have really welcomed this and are getting involved with cleaning up the area."

Similar initiatives took place last year in The Willows area of Deane, Brownlow Fold and Kearsley.