MORE than 4,400 residents have petitioned the Home Secretary David Blunkett calling for the new high street village police post to be permanently manned.

They want to see a bigger police presence in the Lowton and Golborne areas where it is claimed people are living in fear behind closed doors.

The plea to Mr Blunkett, signed on behalf of petitioners by Community Action Councillors Kevin Williams, Peter Solinas and Peter Franzen, says: "The desire of the people is to stop the anti-social behaviour, overcome crime and to bring back peace within the township.

"The people have been and are living in fear behind closed doors. They have no confidence in the police.

"The people's attitude is why bother reporting incidents, if no action is taken immediately or at all.

"We may only be a small township, not like our neighbouring towns of Wigan and Leigh, but our problems are similar, consequently people, especially the elderly, are fearful of walking the streets alone.

"We understand that due to cut backs to keep the council tax down the Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council are proposing to cut back on the policing of our township, which is an area that requires enhancing not reducing.

"The police on foot patrol require more support in numbers to do their job efficiently and for the moral of the police and people to have a good communication and relationship to enhance the township.

"We pray our dilemma will be addressed, as we see more breakdowns in family life, so we receive the brunt of the youths emotional cries of anger expressed in the antisocial behaviour in our communities.

"Our police force is the only disciplinary action we can call upon for help, as law-abiding citizens."

Leigh MP Andy Burnham, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary, said: "The Communuty Action Party cannot on one hand oppose funding increases for more police officers through council tax andf then call for more police on the strets.

"The truth is that there are record numbers of police in the borough and also we have many new community support officers that didn't exist before.

"It is because Labour has invested heavily in policing that we can respond legitimately to concerns expressed by Golborne and Lowton residents."