BIKE locks were handed out to residents as part of an action plan to crack down on anti-social and criminal behaviour.

In a spate of fires in Kearsley groups of youths have taken bins from properties and set them alight in nearby parks and wasteland.

Firefighters had laser pens shone in their eyes when they arrived to tackle the fires at the start of this month.

The problem came to a head when a teenager was stabbed near to the shopping precinct in Manchester Road after being chased by a gang of youths.

Now, agencies have come together to try to tackle the problem, and have been handing out the bike locks to try to prevent the bin fires.

The locks can be used to tie bins together, making it more difficult for the youths to wheel them off and set them alight.

The day of action involved police, Bolton Council and the fire service who were door-knocking and talking to residents as well as handing out the locks.

They had about 100 locks to give out and will return in the coming months to see if they are still being used and whether to look at expanding the scheme.

Sergeant Kevin Lister said that getting a fire engine out for one hour to tackle a bin fire costs around £200 so the locks could prove very cost effective.

The fire service discussed general fire safety with householders, including making sure they had working smoke alarms.

Fire service watch manager, Paul Harrison, said: “The properties where the residents have been in have responded well.

“We’ve been talking a lot about things in a fire safety sense.

“In terms of bin fires we’ve been talking about keeping them away from the property, when they get set on fire, they can spread to the property. Talking to people today, there’s definitely benefits for everyone.”

Police were also asking residents about their concerns in the area.

A Community Payback group was working on picking up litter on an area next to Pilkington Road where the youths had been taking the bins to set them alight.

The group removed rubbish from an area under a bridge where groups of youths are known to gather.

Earlier this month, a fence was put up to stop youths reaching the area under the bridge. But it has since been damaged and work is being done to repair this.

PCSOs, as well as representatives from the fire service, concentrated on the area around Kearsley Park, including Pilkington Road and Thomas More Close which have suffered problems with anti-social behaviour.

Sgt Lister said: “We’re showing people what we’re doing about the problems and finding out how they feel about it.

“It’s to do with mass community engagement. We want to show the community of Kearsley that something is being recognised as a problem and we’re doing something to solve it.”

Kearsley Cricket Club offered their building for free as a base for the operation and the locks were provided by Bolton Council and Bolton at Home.