ASIAN youths "blamed" for a catalogue of vandalism, verbal abuse and incidents of disorder at a Bury church have hit back at the authorities and demanded better facilities for their area.

Teenagers living in the Heywood Street and Spring Street area of town said that high levels of boredom were contributing to the escalating problems at Holy Trinity Church.

They have now challenged local councillors to take immediate action.

More than 60 young people and some older members of the Asian community converged on the Mosses Centre for a heated discussion with local councillors and representatives of Bury Racial Equality Council (BREC).

The meeting, led by BREC chairman Dr Mohammed Salim, was set up in a bid to solve the problem of youths, both white and Asian, annoying residents and parishioners.

Councillor Connie Fitzgerald said the situation had come to a head with youths setting fire to a pile of rubbish outside the church on Spring Street.

She said: "The final straw was when some youths broke into the Mosses Centre and stole some paper. They left a trail of paper and set fire to it outside the church." However, some of the youths at the meeting argued they were being unfairly blamed for the incidents because of their race.

The Redvales councillor responded: "There are a lot of incidents around here and a lot of vandalism at the church. It is a problem with the Asian community because the majority of people around here are Asian. That is why I consulted the BREC and arranged this meeting. We are here to find out what you want."

At the meeting Anjum Saddique, of Shepherd Street, said: "This has not arisen overnight. Why has it taken so long for us to have this meeting? Why have the councillors never been to ask us what we want? I have never seen one. I admit there is a problem but it is up to you to come up with a solution."

He added: "What have we got? The football pitch on Openshaw Park is covered in dog dirt and broken glass. Back us up, prioritise us and make us number one."

The teenagers agreed to form a youth committee with the BREC and councillors as a way forward.

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