NELSON residents are trying to get a bus shelter removed because it is 'more abused than used'.

People living in Walton Lane claim the refuge at the corner of Marsden Hall Road is a focal point for large groups of youngsters who intimidate residents.

They have asked Pendle Borough Council to remove the shelter but officers have said it is a matter for the police.

Walton Lane resident Alison Plackett said: "It is more abused than used.

"When you get 10 teenagers in there it can be intimidating and there can be up to 30 of them. If you tackle them it's provocation so it's best to try to ignore it. The problem is related to drinking, whether it's shops selling it or adults giving it to them, I don't know.

"I regret asking for the bus shelter to be removed. I look at it as a public facility but is has been used more by the groups of youths in the evening than by the occasional person wanting to get the bus.

"We do call the police but they have priorities for what they can go to. I have to say this new style of policing with someone you can voice complaints to is helping."

Highways and transport manager Colin Badminton said although it was known there were problems he could not authorise the removal of a bus shelter because they encourage people to use public transport.

In a report to Nelson councillors he wrote: "The shelter has attracted a higher than average amount of vandalism in recent years and some of the local residents consider that it encourages youths to gather and cause a noise and other nuisances. The police have been called to the location on several occasions.

"Although there have been occasions when an area committee has authorised the removal of a bus shelter, this is a rare occurrence and for public transport policy reasons, I am not able to recommend that bus shelters be removed. If there is a persistent nuisance problem with local youths then it is for the police to address the problem."

Nelson Committee will discuss the issue when it meets on January 10.