RESIDENTS on a housing estate have slammed council bosses for neglecting their area, claiming it has become a magnet for young thugs.

Members of the Church Central Residents' Association launched their stinging attack on Hyndburn Council just days after people in Huncoat claimed councillors had allowed their estate to become a ghost town.

Barbara Cliffe, secretary of the association, said people had a catalogue of complaints, including derelict properties which are attracting young thugs.

She said: "There is a block of flats in Dorset Place which is supposed to be up for demolition. It is boarded up and attracts the wrong sort of people.

"We now have a gang of 15 to 20 thugs who roam this area at night destroying anything that gets in their way.

"People don't seem interested in our problems. We have to scream very loudly before we get action."

She added: "Since the flats were boarded up in the summer the area has become a dumping ground for stolen cars which are torched.

"Our telephone box was blown up by kids using fireworks but still there is no help for us. Children see the flats boarded up and they use them as a den.

"That has spread across the whole area now. We feel it is about time someone remembered us." Last week, councillors told residents in Huncoat they were sympathetic towards their plight, adding that they knew sympathy was not enough.

But Mrs Cliffe added: "We don't want sympathy. We want action by the council and the police."

Council leader Peter Britcliffe said: "Action is what they shall get. The flats have been bought by the Salford Housing Association. They are due to be pulled down in the near future and replaced by bungalows.

"We hope this will be the trigger for further regeneration.

"It is great news for the residents in Church. I am just sorry they have had to wait so long but our administration has made a point of getting things done in this and other areas."

A police spokesman said: "All crimes reported to us are investigated. We would urge anyone who knows who these youths might be to call us."

Police are still probing the Dill Hall Lane phone box bomb, which caused £5,000-worth of damage.

Picture: One of the boarded-up homes in Dorset Place.