Resident Brian Mitchell told Pendle Council's Nelson Committee the hostel in Sackville Street had opened without the prior knowledge of neighbours and the three youths housed there were giving cause for concern.

Mr Mitchell said he had lived in the street for 10 years without problems. "But now we are bombarded with loud music. We have grandchildren who come to stay with us and we cannot allow them to play out because of the behaviour of these youths.

"Last Saturday, one of them was stood in a wheelie bin compressing all the cans. The language he was using was so bad I had to go out and tell him to shut up. Who would want to buy my house if I decided to sell with the hostel there? No one would want to live next to that."

Coun. Roy Edwards said no one knew what offences the youths had been charged with, but one had been heard bragging about an armed robbery.
"They are drinking on the street, using foul language and urinating in the street. It is not a proper place to have a hostel. People in the area are dead against it," he said.

Coun. Eileen Ansar said the trouble caused by the hostel was "beyond belief" and people had taken their complaints to the Ministry of Justice. "Disturbances occur on a regular basis. Nobody has been consulted on this and to wake up one morning and find this has been horrendous."