A LOCAL councillor has appealed to Trafford residents to help the council bring hundreds of empty private properties back onto the market.

Cllr Bernice Garlick, Trafford's cabinet member for housing and environment services, warned that empty and derelict houses and flats are magnets for arson, vandalism, theft and drug related crimes.

More than 1,000 private properties are currently vacant in the borough.

They can also create areas of low demand and unpopular housing which encourages vandals to target the houses.

Cllr Garlick said: "Crime apart, there are reports of environmental and health and safety problems, among them, vermin, fly-tipping and dangerous structures. Empty homes can also be a death trap for children.

"We recognise that empty homes are merely a symptom of other problems, and they need to be tackled to stop the rot before it takes a firm hold."

Trafford's environmental protection service uses a number of ways to ensure empty properties are brought back into use.

Owners are persuaded to sell their properties or refurbish them and rent them out.

Grants have been made available for refurbishment work, subject to the condition that properties are rented out to people nominated by the council at affordable rent levels for five years.

Cllr Garlick said: "We have put many privately owned homes back into use but there is still a great deal to do. There are still almost 1,083 privately owned homes in our district that have been empty for more than six months."

For more details about Empty Homes Agency call 020 7828 6288 or visit www.emptyhomes.com.

A HOUSE in Wendover Road, Urmston, pictured in its former state of dereliction. The council has now restored it.