People living near a hostel want it to be shut down, claiming it has been at the centre of a spate of incidents in the area.

Accrington’s Crossroads Lifehouse, which caters for up to 11 homeless young people, has been blamed for recent incidents including an attack on 38-year-old Pete Mooring who had his jaw broken after he was hit with a stick on Monday night.

He had confronted a man about a traffic cone that was thrown through the window of his neighbour, 78-year-old Joan Pilkington.

Mr Mooring, a builder, of Princess Street, said: “My jaw swelled up really badly and I’ve been off work now because of it. My fiancee is terrified to be alone in the home in case anything flares up again.”

Mrs Pilkington had the cone thrown through her window in the early hours of Saturday. She says her daughter’s car windshield was shattered in the same incident and has started a petition for the home to be closed.

Mrs Pilkington said: “I was totally shell-shocked. It was about 2.45am and I heard this almighty crash and when I came downstairs I saw the cone and there was glass everywhere.

“My daughter was so worried about me she didn’t want to leave me. We don’t deserve to be putting up with this. It needs to close.” The Salvation Army  runs the home. The charity said it was working with the community and said it had a zero tolerance policy for crime.

A spokesman  said: “We are working with some of the most vulnerable young people in the most appropriate way to meet their needs.

“We are aware of some disturbances.?We have provided information to the police  and held meetings with our residents to make them aware of their responsibilities to respect our neighbourhood.”

Councillor Joan Smith said she was going to set up a meeting between residents and the people running the hostel.  She said: “It is a problem and I’m not sure how we can solve it.”

Police are investigating he incidents and have appealed for witnesses.