Village leaders have issued a plea for help in setting up a crime-busting initiative.

Denholme Town Council has joined forces with police and Denholme Action Group to launch a new network of Neighbourhood Watch schemes.

The aim is to stamp out the wave of crime which catapulted the village into the headlines of national newspapers.

A row broke out earlier this year after Gary Gregory, a detective who works in Greater Manchester but lives in Denholme, accused West Yorkshire Police of failing to tackle drug gangs besieging his home.

Now residents have teamed up with police and the town council in a bid to target criminals in the village.

And Denholme's town mayor, Councillor Russell Driver, is appealing for villagers to step forward to act as Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators and help get the initiative off the ground.

The Town Council has drawn up 21 areas which each include a cluster of streets and houses and which each need a co-ordinator.

"What we've tried to do is break Denholme into areas," said Coun Driver.

"It would be nice to think that we would be inundated with people coming forward and we could actually break them down and make them even smaller.

"Basically what we are looking for is someone in each area who is prepared to put in a bit of time and effort to go out there and get other people in their locality involved to make a go of it."

Coun Driver said training for volunteer co-ordinators would be given by police at a meeting which was being provisionally pencilled in for the middle of February.

The Town Council is hoping to finalise its list of co-ordinators by the end of January.

Coun Driver said anyone who was interested in volunteering should contact him by ringing (01274) 832934 or leaving a sealed envelope marked Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator at the caretaker's office in the Mechanics Institute in Denholme.

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