FOREIGNERS and non-English speakers among Blackburn's 22,000-strong Asian population have the chance to talk to the police with the help of a "lingo line."

The scheme is being highlighted in an attempt to make sure local people don't face communication problems in an emergency, or if they need assistance.

The London-based Language Line service provides interpreters in up to 200 languages at the end of a telephone.

Police officers throughout Lancashire can be put in touch with the service within seconds by dialling a number given to them by their control room. An initial 12-month contract for the 24-hour service has just been extended by force bosses because it was so successful.

Local officers are responsible for policing a wide variety of people, including 22,000 who originate from the Indian sub-continent.

Recent troubles in the former Yugoslavia have resulted in Bosnian families moving into the town and there are also a large number of goods vehicle drivers from all over Europe travelling through the area.

Insp Andy Pratt, head of the division's ethnic liaison team, said: "The majority of these people have a good command of English, but the police are concerned that they deliver as good a service as possible."

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