THE number of empty houses in Burnley has fallen dramatically, reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.

Housing company Calico revealed the number of its properties standing empty in the borough had dropped from 480 to 132.

The company issued the figures and revealed it had spent £17million improving housing in the town in the past five years.

Alan Tyrell, spokesman for the private landlord, said a clampdown on yobs blighting estates with anti-social behaviour was partly responsible for the fall.

He said: "There is a whole raft of things that we have done to help turn things around.

"We have spent a lot of time and effort using caretakers and carrying out community clean-ups to improve the appearance of estates.

"We are very strong on anti-social behaviour.

"People deserve to live in a nice home in a quiet area."

The latest crime figures

published in January and recorded last July, show a 15 per cent fall in overall crime in the town compared with the previous year.

Calico, formerly Burnley and Padiham Community Housing, took over the running of 5,300 homes from Burnley Borough Council in March 2000.

In that period, the company said the number of empty homes had fallen by 72.5 per cent because of cleaner estates, low rent increases and the millions spent on installing central heating, double glazing and improving security on properties.

Houses have also been bulldozed in the south west Burnley area.

Mr Tyrell said the findings of an upcoming stock condition survey will help to determine how the company will spend £25million on further improvements.

The survey will cover all Calico accommodation and assess its quality.

He added: "In five years, so much has been done but we know there is a lot of work still to be done.

"We have to meet the decent homes standard set by the government by 2010 but we are well on the way to achieving that."

Martin Selway, community police sergeant for Burnley, said: "Fully occupied housing is an important part of sustainable communities. It helps to reduce the opportunity for crime and increases natural surveillance

"The fewer vacant properties has been a contributory factor in reducing crime."