VANDALISM on Bolton's bus shelters is worse than anywhere else in the world, a local transport chief has claimed.

More shelters are smashed by yobs in Greater Manchester than any blackspot and now the Transport Authority is set to install security cameras in a bid to catch the vandals in action.

Bolton Cllr Guy Harkin, vice chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, said that the scale of the problem was revealed to him in a conversation with a boss of J C Decaux, the French firm which provides all the bus shelters in the county.

He believes that repairs are costing them a six figure sum every year.

Cllr Harkin said: "This company installs bus shelters all over the world, but I was told that they have nothing like these problems anywhere else.

"We are not talking about one or two more shelters being smashed in a year, we are talking about hundreds more.

"I was told that in some countries vandalism of bus shelters is unheard of.

"Basically, there are more bus shelters smashed in somewhere like Westhoughton in a week than a large city like Munich in a year.

Senseless

"It is just so mindless. I can just about understand someone smashing my car windscreen to steal a radio. But smashing a bus shelter is just senseless.

"Security cameras seem to be the only answer. They worked when we put them in the town centre, they worked when we put them on estates and they have worked when we put them on buses.

"The technology is now so good that they produce pictures which are good enough to be used in evidence."

Mr Eric Spink, Manchester-based regional operations manager of J C Decaux, said: "It is not our policy to publicise vandalism because experience shows this makes the situation worse."

The BEN reported last year that TWENTY shelters were vandalised in Deane in one Bank Holiday weekend.

There have been recent reports of every shelter on Tonge Moor Road being smashed between Folds Road and Crompton Way.

In Tottington, the shelter at the village terminus has been replaced by steel panels.

The BEN has received letters from residents in Halliwell, Breightmet and Astley Bridge to complain about the situation.

There have been reports in the last few days of shelters vandalised on Market Street, Little Lever and Andrew Lane, Sharples.

Earlier this week, we featured pictures of smashed up telephone boxes at Bolton market.

Loutish

Mr Russell Gard, operations director for the First Manchester bus company, said: "We will do all we can in any situation where loutish, threatening or anti-social behaviour affects the comfort of our passengers.

"We will also pursue the relevant authorities to ensure that they initiate and follow through whatever action is required to address the problem."

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