A YOUTH club has highlighted the importance of engaging with Westhoughton’s young people in order to deter them from anti-social behaviour.

Beth Maunder and Paul Griffiths, from Bolton Lads and Girls Club, gave a presentation to the town council on Monday about the service it provides at its centre in Central Drive.

And as part of the talk, they spoke about the recent concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour in the area, which came to a head at a public meeting in February.

Ms Maunder runs the centre's Outreach and Detached programme that aims to engage youngsters when they're on the streets.

She said: "I think in the last 18 months we have done so much work but only the negative is reported. It is about getting young people into things. It is not about condemning them.

“We are aware about the issue of substance misuse and crime but everybody is working extremely hard to put in those interventions with adults and young people here.

“At the crime meeting we attended, there was a lot of anxiousness and a lot of panic.

“When I was at that crime meeting, a lot of it was about organised crime coming from outside Westhoughton.

“It is a small percentage where there is a young person involved and these issues need to be looked at.

"But we are not vigilantes going down with our torches and our pick axes and hunting them down. We need to refocus these young people. Some of them are coming from very deprived backgrounds and the only way they know how to deal with things is fight or flight."

The group was praised for its work in going out on to the streets and speaking to youngsters in order to inform them about services, including mental health provision.

Cllr David Chadwick said: “Can I ask you to take back our compliments to the team and their efforts to provide facilities for our children in Westhoughton and to try and counteract some of the activities by doing what you’re doing.

“It is the small minority of individuals that give children a bad name. Anything that counteracts that has got to be beneficial for the town."

For more information about what the club provides, go to boltonladsandgirlsclub.co.uk