THE people who live on the down-at-heel Within Grove Estate in Huncoat can be forgiven for thinking they have been forgotten.

The environment in which they live is an absolute disgrace.

Dozens of empty, rotting houses are boarded up, criminals and vandals routinely target the area and many residents are afraid to venture beyond their front doors at night.

Back in June there were proposals from a Manchester-based housing association to tear down much of the estate and rebuild it from scratch, placing community life at the heart of plans.

But residents have heard nothing since, even though the situation has become worse. How many times have we seen estates like Within Grove deteriorate to the point where no one wants to live on them?

The planners of the 1950s and 60s and the local councils who rubber stamped their schemes have a lot to answer for. They designed estates capable of taking hundreds, sometimes thousands, of families and sited them miles away from amenities, apart from the odd chippy, off licence, pub or late shop.

Leisure centres, youth clubs, cinemas and clubs were not even considered by the planners.

Gangs of bored teenagers drifted into vandalism and crime -- and many estates became virtual war zones.

Stolen cars were dumped there and stripped and anyone who objected risked having their windows smashed, or worse.

Councillor Russ Davies, Hyndburn Council's housing business board chairman, is spot on when he says he has even sympathy with people living on Within Grove Esate but that sympathy is not good enough.

The problem is not exactly new. Estates like Within Grove have been around for nearly half a century.

And Hyndburn Council's assurance that they are still talking to the housing association will be of little comfort to residents.

They have heard it all before and they want and deserve action. FLASHBACK:Hyndburn MP Greg Pope and Home Secretary Jack Straw on a tour of Within Grove