A HOUSING estate has become a 'no go area' at night, residents have claimed.

People living on the Dove Bank estate in Little Lever say it has descended into 'mob rule', with drug dealers and gangs of youths leaving them feeling unsafe in their own homes.

Local councillor Sean Hornby says the situation has become so bad that he no longer feels safe walking the streets at night.

He referred to a recent report on Bolton's crime hotspots, which revealed that a street on the estate had the highest crime rate outside the town centre.

READ MORE: SPECIAL REPORT: Bolton's 10 most criminal streets

139 crimes were recorded on or near to Third Avenue over the period of a year from September 2017, the seventh highest in Bolton.

Residents gathered at Hardy Hall, in Church Street, on Monday night to share their concerns and call for action.

One said: "It is time something was done. We want some police patrols going round on a regular basis.

"It is mob rule and we want to reclaim our streets and avenues back because we have lost them."

Among the incidents residents reported happening recently were gangs of youths throwing fireworks at homes, and a teenage boy being threatened with a knife.

Specific complaints were made about residents living in flats on Third Avenue, who it was claimed were bringing crime into the area.

Cllr Hornby said that he had previously asked Bolton at Home to tear down the flats.

He added: "The people that are being put in them are allowing other people to come and congregate there and that is where all the drug taking is going on.

"It is a badly-designed area. They need to be knocked down and put something else there so decent people can live in them.

"The majority of people on that estate are good and they care passionately about where they live, but there is a perception that Bolton at Home are moving the problems from the rest of Bolton to the estate.

"Dove Bank is a no-go area at night. I am frightened to walk those streets at night.

"In the short-term I believe you need a local lettings policy where those houses are only given to people who are connected to Little Lever."

Calls for CCTV to be introduced around the estate were made, but Cllr Hornby dismissed them as being too expensive.

He encouraged residents to ring Crimestoppers in order to build up a pattern of crime on the estate.

Meanwhile, a representative from Bolton at Home urged people living on the estate to set up a residents group in order to inform them and police of what is happening.

He added: "This is happening all over Bolton. It is because of the government cuts to police services and the decimation of our youth services."

But, Cllr Hornby then called for a 'joined-up approach' between Bolton at Home and Greater Manchester Police.

He added: "It feels as though the buck is being passed between the police and Bolton at Home.

"The annoying thing is that if you ring 101, nothing gets done. If you decided to take the law into your own hands the police would be there like that, though."