POLICE forced their way into a house looking for a wanted man — but he was not inside.

Officers had intelligence which suggested the man they were looking for was at the address in Hooton Street, Daubhill.

Police went to the address at 5am on Wednesday and knocked on the door.

When they got no response they forced their way inside.

The man they were looking for was not inside, and the police have now arranged to pay for the costs of a new door.

The resident at the address said: “People make mistakes and it was just a mistake.

“They were knocking but I did not hear them. They are going to replace the door.”

Insp Danny Brophy, a response inspector for Bolton central, added: “We are actively searching for a suspect at large who we believed had connections to the address.

“However, our intelligence was wrong and we have apologised to the occupant and have sorted out replacing the door.

“The member of the public was very understanding.”