A YOUNG mum was left "absolutely devastated" when police forced their way into her home after a neighbour heard her four-year-old autistic son crying.

Shocked Claire Nolan (26) awoke at 4am to find an officer standing over her bed after he and a colleague kicked in the front door of her home in Bond Street, Bury.

Later, she claimed, police refused to meet the cost of repairing the door frame of her Irwell Valley Housing Association property.

Now, however, after the Bury Times took up her complaint with the police, the work will be carried out at no cost to the single mum.

Speaking about the incident, which happened in December, Claire said: "I woke and heard my son crying and a policeman was over my bed. Officers told me they had had a call from a neighbour because my son, Joseph, had been crying. They broke through the door to get entry.

"The police told me not to worry as there was would be no stigma attached to what happened. I was made to feel I'd failed to some degree. I was absolutely devastated and in shock for a long time. I couldn't stop crying and it was two or three weeks before I could stay overnight in the house again."

Claire said that, despite frequent requests for police to pay for repairs to the door of her housing association home, they had refused.

"I'd asked the housing association to fix the door but first I needed to obtain a crime number from the police. They refused to give it to me because they said no crime was committed. Despite explaining the situation to them, they had told me I would have to pay for the damage. But as a single parent, I couldn't afford to."

Her son, Joseph, was assessed as autistic last year and Claire is attempting to have him registered with Bury's Re:d Centre which caters for disabled children and their families.

"At the moment, I'm receiving little or no help from anyone which is a real problem. Joseph attends a private nursery and has a social worker. I do have trouble with his night-time routine. He wakes up a lot. On the night the police broke in, I was exhausted and didn't hear him cry.

"He can't speak because he really doesn't have the knowledge to start with. Joseph is also aggressive, throws things and hits out at me. His room is completely child-proof and there is nothing there which could hurt him."

After the Bury Times contacted the police, the matter is now being resolved.

A Bury police spokesman said: "We contacted the housing association and, with Claire's permission, told them what we did at the scene. They are more than happy with the circumstances and the door frame will be replaced at no cost to Claire."