A NEW Criminal Record Bureau call centre in East Lancashire is set to open two months early as bosses fight to clear a backlog of 100,000 applications.

Around 35 staff from the existing call centre in Liverpool will be bused into Darwen from next week to help the first wave of local staff get to grips with the complicated new process.

The Criminal Records Bureau was designed to provide a 'one-stop shop' for employers wanting to track the history of prospective staff who would be working with children.

But by the summer, a massive backlog of applications for clearance had built up. Thousands of staff were unable to start the new school term and some schools were forced to close.

In Lancashire, more than 500 teachers were unable to start their jobs on time and although the educational backlog has now cleared, 98,000 requests for clearance from other groups are still more than three weeks old, meaning they are late.

Bosses at the new India Mill call centre hope the backlog will be cut more quickly with the new call centre opening sooner.

The CRB is a partnership run by Capita -- the firm which runs Blackburn with Darwen's administrative services and also operates a TV Licensing call centre -- and the Home Office.

More than 200 staff will be employed when the call centre reaches capacity.

CRB director John O'Brien, who took over the service in July, said: "We have brought things forward in Darwen so hopefully we can combat the backlog, which is not as bad as it was.

"This will enable us to get on top of the backlog and keep it down. In future we will be able to predict and control as and when applications are due to arrive."

For the first few weeks, staff at India Mill will have to contact police forces in writing or on the phone to check details of applicants because access to the Police National Computer will not be available in time.

Around 190 posts were advertised this month, earlier than planned after the Home Office decided action was needed in the face of the education-backlog crisis.