BOLTON'S new police squad will mean more officers on the streets - but the team will not be working alone.

The group, covering Breightmet and The Haulgh, will work alongside a range of groups from housing services to NHS representatives and trading standards to try and deal with the kinds of issues that can put unnecessary stress one emergency services.

PC Darren Bunn is part of the team. He has been working with other organisations across Bolton for some time and recalls a number of instances where a separate agency has been able to ease pressure on police.

One Westhoughton man had been the subject of 103 police incidents and 90 trips to A & E at the Royal Bolton Hospital, costing GMP £153,000 on his own in just one year.

He was eventually arrested for wasting police time before work with social services helped to deal with his drug problem. After speaking with the social workers - who he had previously avoided before being referred to them by officers - the man's situation has improved and he has not called for police or an ambulance since.

READ MORE: Bolton's new police team

Another example involved a woman who had been in and out of hospital because of self-harming and had been the subject of 999 calls by her neighbours because of anti-social behaviour.

The woman had been calling the North West Ambulance Service as many as four times a week and police around three times, but when the emergency services approached housing staff they were able to get her moved closer to her mother, which brought an end to nearly all of the problems.

“It's a holistic approach," explained Chief Inspector Mike Russell. "We want to know the reasons around why people are behaving that way.

"A good example would be someone that's drinking excessively, we might get called as a result of that, but what's making them do that and what can be done to help them?"