GANGS of children are running wild in a Rossendale town, according to residents and councillors.

Residents in Waterfoot say they have made numerous complaints to the police about the youngsters breaking windows and making threats.

They have blamed youngster living at Brighton House, a care home for children aged between 10 and 16, which is run by New Beginnings Therapeutic Services.

The home said that it had not received any complaints since last May.

But the police said that they had been out to “a number of incidents” regarding Brighton House.

Marie Buckley, owner of the Curiosity Shop, Waterfoot, said: “I have lived here for five years and it used to be a quiet village until Brighton House turned up.

“My windows have been bricked through six times, my 14 year old son has been cornered and threatened by one of the gangs, my business is regularly attacked.

“I had to send my son to live with his grandmother for six weeks because I was concerned for his welfare.”

Brighton House used to be an old people’s home. It became a children’s home last spring.

Inspector Dave Hodgson said: “We have been deployed to a number of incidents regarding Brighton House and we contacted Ofsted to investigate how the facility was being run.

“Ofsted has since informed us that it is happy with how Brighton House is being managed and the development of the children under the care of the staff there.”

Coun Jim Pilling, said: “The impact on the local residents is simply unacceptable and in my opinion this home is in entirely the wrong place.”

But a manager at Brighton House, who did not want to be named, said: “As far as we’re concerned, we have received no complaints from residents since May last year.

“If we did have complaints we would deal with each one appropriately.

“We are in regular communication with the council and the local MP about any issues that arise.”