TWO new police community support officers (PCSOs) have taken to the streets of Burnley.

PCSO Bill Ogden will cover the Burnley Wood area, working alongside community beat manager PC Andy Thornhill, while PCSO Nigel Keats will patrol the Queensgate area with community beat manager PC Richard Collopy.

Bill and Nigel are the first of a batch of six new Police Community Support Officers to join Pennine Division.

Like the Division's 12 existing PCSOs, their job will be to patrol the streets, getting to know the local community and reassuring residents that there is a police presence.

Working alongside police officers, support staff and special constables, they will have to address many of the tasks that do not require the experience or powers held by police officers but which often take officers away from more urgent duties.

That means they will have to tackle anti-social behaviour in their communities and deal with issues affecting the quality of life.

They will also act as eyes and ears for the regular police. For example, they will report vandalism, damaged street furniture and suspicious activity.

But they will also provide crime prevention advice, deter juvenile nuisance and visit victims of crime to reassure them that local problems are being dealt with.

Welcoming the first two new PCSOs on board, Chief Superintendent John Knowles, Commander of Pennine Police, said: "Public demand for visible uniformed patrol has never been greater. The employment of additional police community support officers will provide us with additional capacity to meet this demand and deliver a service that our communities rightly expect and deserve."

Bill and Nigel have received full training to enable them to take appropriate action in the event of difficult circumstances. They will be supervised by police officers and work primarily with community beat managers. They will also have radio access so they can call for assistance if it is needed.

They will have the power to:

confiscate alcohol and tobacco,

enter property to save life or prevent damage,

seize vehicles that cause alarm,

remove abandoned vehicles,

and detain offenders until regular officers arrive at the scene.