ROSSENDALE Council is failing to work in partnership with Bacup police to tackle crime in the borough, a leading MP claimed yesterday.

Labour Party chairman Charles Clarke, who played an major role in implementing the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act which gives local authorities the power to issue anti-social behaviour orders through courts to young offenders, slammed the way Rossendale Council had worked with police on youth crime.

Rossendale MP Janet Anderson, Dave Taylor of Bacup Pride, Bill Pearson of Bacup Against Crime and the Rossendale Partnership -- a group aiming to work with the council through SRB funding to regenerate the area and fight crime -- and PC Claire Foster told him how more council support was needed during his visit yesterday.

Andree Pomfret of the Rossendale Partnership said: "We want there to be a local strategic partnership with every organisation fighting crime. Unless we have that we are not going to get any funding from the local authority."

At present she said she felt the lack of support from the council was hampering progress.

Mr Clarke said: "The council has not had an effective leadership and has not used anti-social behaviour orders to fight young thuggery. We want to invest in the community of Rossendale through anti-social behaviour orders, CCTV and working relationships with the police.

"We don't think the current council is taking crime seriously."

PC Foster said the council had not issued a single anti-social behaviour order Bacup police had referred them.

She said: "We have had problems issuing them. They are not being put through by the council. Two should have been dealt with which have been waiting for months to be processed and we have another three ongoing.

"If they work they make your job a lot easier. But none from here have yet gone through."

Rossendale council's chief executive Steve Hartley was unavailable to comment on the council's attitude to crime.

But Richard Lester, the council's assistant solicitor, said there had been preliminary hearings for two ASBOs from Bacup yesterday.

"Both cases have been adjourned to May 9," he said. "But I am not aware of the three other cases. The first two did have to go through a case conference procedure before coming to court."