A RIBBLE Valley policeman is to set out on a one-man roadshow around the district's villages to give essential advice on crime prevention.

PC Peter Wareing, based at Clitheroe, will embark on the 28-village tour, which runs from April 30 to July 11, to provide crime prevention and architectural advice and property marking.

The roadshow will kick off at Abbey Terrace in Barrow village nextTuesday at 5pm.

PC Wareing, a crime prevention officer, said: "The aim of the roadshow is to get across the importance of crime prevention in rural areas and I will be visiting most, if not all, of the smaller villages in the Ribble Valley to give advice and to mark any property of value for its owners.

"The sessions will be held either at night or at weekends so as many people can come along as possible in their spare time to pick up some tips."

PC Wareing is also the area's architectural liaison officer and so will also be on hand to give advice on how to secure homes.

He once set up a crime advice centre at Blackburn town hall when he was stationed in the town.

It is hoped that the advice PC Wareing can provide will go some way to tackling crime within rural areas.

An audit compiled from statistics between April 1999 and March 2001 showed an increase in domestic burglary, criminal damage, racially-motivated incidents and violent crime in areas such as Clitheroe, Longridge and Whalley, with travelling criminals blamed for the majority.

A spokesman for the crime and disorder audit, compiled by Ribble Valley Borough Council, Lancashire Constabulary, Lancashire County Council, the Probation Service and East Lancashire Health Authority, said: "Most of the crime in rural areas appears to have been committed by travelling criminals, who tour the area targeting farms and isolated houses."

He added: "We must not become complacent and make the Ribble Valley a soft touch for travelling criminals, as large conurbations surrounding the Ribble Valley increase their use of CCTV and other crime reduction measures."

Domestic burglary figures almost doubled in the Chipping and Gisburn and Rimington areas between 1999 and 2001, with 5.1 per cent of crimes per 1,000 households in 1999/2000 compared with 10.2 per cent in 2000/2001 in Chipping and 6.3 per cent in 1999/2000 rising to 12.7 per cent in 2000/2001 in Gisburn and Rimington.

Crimes per 1,000 households also increased in Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley by 2.6 per cent; Clitheroe by 2.6 per cent, Ribchester by 1.3 per cent, Sabden, Wiswell and Pendleto

ANYONE wanting advice on crime prevention can visit any of the following roadshow dates:

Barrow, Abbey Terrace, April 30, 5-8pm

Chatburn, library car park, May 2, 5-8pm

Billington, Billington Gardens, May 18, 9am-noon

Whalley, Whalley Arms car park, May 18, 1-4pm

Clayton-le-Dale, St Peter's Church, May 21, 5-8pm

Copster Green, Lovely Hall Lane junction, May 23, 5-8pm

Downham, Assheton Arms car park, May 29, 5-8pm

Gisburn Travellers Court, June 1, 9am-noon

Bolton-by-Bowland, Main Street, June 1, 1-4pm

Longridge, Late Shop car park, June 2, 9am-noon

Chipping, Church Raike, June 2, 1-4pm

Grindleton, playing fields. June 5, 5-8pm

Slaidburn, Memorial Hall car park, June 8, 9am-noon

Dunsop Bridge, opposite garage, June 8, 1-4pm

Langho, Spring Terrace, June 19, 5-8pm

Hurst Green, Memorial Hall car park, June 22, 9am-noon

Wilpshire, Whalley end of Somerset Road, June 22, 1-4pm

Read, East View, June 23, 9am-noon

Simonstone, Lawrence Avenue, June 23, 1-4pm

Mellor, opposite library, June 25, 5-8pm

Newton, Brights Close, June 27, 5-8pm

Ribchester, car park, June 29, 9am-noon

Sabden, car park, June 29, 1-4pm

Waddington, opposite Post Office, June 30, 9am-noon

West Bradford, Grindleton Road, June 30, 1-4pm

Old Langho, Larkhill Cottages, July 3, 5-8pm

Ramsgreave, Spread Eagle car park, July 9, 5-8pm

Low Moor, Clitheroe, St Anne's Court, July 11, 5-8pm.