HI-TECH alarms will be fitted to empty Darwen council homes in a bid to phase out ugly metal screens on the windows.

Blackburn with Darwen Council last night gave the go ahead to a £40,000 trial scheme which would see a company take on responsibility for providing a rapid response team to a house where an alarm had been activated.

Burglars target empty council homes for boilers and central heating systems which they rip out and sell.

Many councils in the country have employed alarm systems with success, prompting housing chiefs in Blackburn and Darwen to see if they will work in the borough.

The systems rely on battery-powered mobile alarms with passive infra red detectors which are activated by an intruder.

Labour councillor Tony Humphrys welcomed the decision.

He said: "There is nothing more off-putting for a prospective tenant to see a collection of properties boarded up with steel cages.

"That is not a welcoming sight and these alarms can only be of benefit to our council estates by making them more attractive." Housing director Phil Richards said the firm which provided the alarm would attend the original break-in and if anybody was caught the police would then be called.

But, he added, the main purpose of the alarm was to act as a deterrent. Burglars would be unsure whether a property was occupied or not. In the case of a house with a metal screen, it was obvious the home was empty.

Mr Richards said the firm which could offer the quickest response time, once an alarm had been activated, would be offered the contract for the Darwen pilot scheme.

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