BURY is to receive a share of a multi-million pound fighting fund to make communities in the North West safer.

A total of £2,390,000 in extra Government funding has been given to Greater Manchester Police.

The money will be shared out among the eleven divisions in the county to support ongoing initiatives to combat handbag snatches, mobile phone thefts and armed robbery. It is not yet been decided how much money Bury police will receive.

Greater Manchester, together with Merseyside and Lancashire, which have been awarded £1,700,000 and £835,000 respectively, are among the ten police forces taking part in the Government's concerted crackdown on street crime. The top ten forces account for 82 per cent of robbery incidents across the country.

Greater Manchester, which has already received £5 million to fund security provisions at the Commonwealth Games, will also receive a share of £827,379 top-up funding for police activity on counter-terrorism measures to enhance the region's defences against terrorism.

Announcing the additional funding, Home Office minister John Denham said: "This funding is excellent news for police in the North West tackling the problem of street crime and anti-social behaviour."