Hundreds of homes will be made safer thanks to a massive £650,000 scheme by Liverpool City Council.

More than a hundred alleygates will be put up by the council in a bid to further drive down crime.

The alleygates also help keep the city looking great as they encourage residents to make the most of communal areas.

Lib Dem executive member for community safety, Councillor Dave Antrobus, said: "Alleygates are really popular in Liverpool because they do cut down on crime. Everyone who gets them says how effective they are. They reduce anti-social behaviour and help make the elderly and the vulnerable feel much safer in their own homes. They help make our communities not only safe and clean, but a healthier place in which to live."

Local studies by Liverpool University have shown that alleygating, together with other crime-prevention measures, reduces domestic burglary by 37 per cent and repeat burglaries by 33 per cent.

The alleygating schemes are being funded in renewal areas by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. The city is also looking at ways to fund alleygates in non-renewal areas. The decision where to locate the schemes was made by Liverpool Citysafe - Liverpool's pioneering community safety partnership, which includes the city council, health agencies and the emergency services.

Liverpool City Council has vowed to make the security of back alleyways its number one priority in tackling crime in its bid to regenerate the city.

The city already has the largest and most successful alleygating schemes in Britain. The council has worked closely with local residents, the police and fire service to secure more than 5,500 alleys across Liverpool, covering more than 62,000 properties and benefiting around 150,000 residents. 

Liverpool also uses recovering drug users in the gate manufacturing process in a two-pronged bid to reduce burglary rates.