Parents urged to quiz their children about arson

People living to the west of Leigh town centre have become fed-up with troublemakers disrupting their lives and have been working closely with Wigan Council and Greater Manchester Police to deter louts.

Around 9pm on Monday night fire crews were called to a skip, which had been placed in Grasmere Street, which was well alight.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze without too many problems.

But Leigh Residents Association has condemned the call-out and urged neighbours to take responsibility for young people living locally.

A spokesman said: “Once again the fire service had to be called out following the mindless dangerous actions of teenagers.

“If you are a parent and your child has been out around Grasmere St tonight it might be worthwhile asking them do they have any information regarding this dangerous incident and report it to the police before someone ends up getting injured or worse.

“We all have a responsibility to keep our children and community safe.”

A spokesman for Leigh fire station added: “It was only a small skip, which had caught fire, which appeared to contain old kitchen fixtures and fittings mainly.

“We have a few problems around the area, with wheelie bin fires, and one of the main areas where this has happened has been Westleigh.”

The development has come as a dedicated email address has been set up meet the problems head-on.

established to tackle anti-social behaviour in parts of Leigh.

The e- mail address, which will be regularly monitored, is [email protected]

An action plan has already been drawn up to improve the estate, between Glebe Street, Gordon Street and Railway Road.

Plans have also been put in place for a two-day litter amnesty, which will see the council provide large containers so residents can dump larger items which they might have to pay to remove.