Police have made six arrests following a huge spike in crime in Westhoughton that saw a number of cars destroyed.
On April 30, officers from Greater Manchester Police were called to several reports of vehicles being found damaged in the Westhoughton area of Bolton.
Victims of the sudden spate of devastating car crime previously spoke out about their anger, with windows left smashed and tyres slashed, as police vowed to step up patrols in the area.
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Residents in and around Westhoughton claimed the town has been gripped by a recent surge in break-ins and vandal attacks at a number of different sites in the centre.
Following extensive enquiries by the Bolton West Neighbourhood team, five juveniles and one adult were later arrested on suspicion of damage to a motor vehicle and theft from a motor vehicle.
All those arrested have been interviewed by officers and released on strict bail conditions whilst the investigation continues, including a review of all forensic opportunities, police said.
Inspector Jamie Hibbert, of GMP's Bolton division, said: "Officers will continue to give increased patrol attention to the areas where the offences have occurred following this spike in offending concentrated over the last two weeks of April.
"At this time I would like to thank all persons who have assisted the police so far in the investigation and also to praise the hard work of the investigation team.
"We will continue to deal robustly with offending and offences such as this in the Westhoughton area by all tactical options available to us. From arrests where necessary to referrals into partner agencies to put children identified in lower level offending onto the Anti-Social Behaviour Pathway.
"Though it may sound obvious, I would urge all parents to have a knowledge of where their own children are and what they are doing as the majority of those arrested here are juveniles. "
Anyone with information, doorbell, or dash cam footage regarding this incident you can report it to GMP by calling 101 quoting log 900 of 30/4/2023 or online via the LiveChat function on their website: www.gmp.police.uk Alternatively, you can report any information or crimes to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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