RESIDENTS living close to Burnley's Scott Park have complained they are still being plagued by juveniles, months after police stepped up patrols in the area.

Neighbours spoke up at a Police Authority meeting in Burnley Town Hall.

Inspector Dave Croll said officers continued to target the park and surrounding streets in a bid to wipe out trouble.

He told residents: "Kids are still causing a lot of trouble. The problems are not as bad but youths are still gathering in bunches. I accept that it is not perfect but we are still targeting the area."

Last year police patrols in Scott Park were stepped up after neighbours complained about regular noise and damage caused by a group of teenagers hanging about in the evenings and at weekends.

Police also arranged visits to the area with school teachers, youth workers, local councillors and members of youth services teams.

Alcohol is said to be a factor in the trouble. Police officers made seven "test purchases" of alcohol from seven off-licences recently. They revealed last night that all seven off-licences selected sold alcohol to a 14-year-old youth. The details have been passed to Trading Standards officers.

Insp Croll added: "Now we have got youngsters attending meetings of the friends of Scott Park. I am not saying the situation is perfect, but having looked at the number of reported incidents it looks like we have had an impact and we would wish to continue that."

Officers said they would continue to work with the youth and community services to try to find a solution to the problem and that they would be encouraging the service to continue to make regular visits to the area.

Burnley's police Chief Superintendent John Knowles added that he would try to find a volunteer to lock the gates to the park during the evenings.

The council has said it is unable to perform this task due to the shift patterns of its park services employees.