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Police, councils, the fire service and Havebury Housing were among the agencies who carried out an Impact Day on Haverhill's Clements estate on Friday.

Starting in the Leiston Community Centre, several teams of half-a-dozen people fanned out across part of the estate, house-to-house, asking homeowners and tenants if there were any problems in their area.

It was a follow-up to work which has been done in the wake of a series of arson incidents involving vehicles on that part of the estate.

The initiative covered courts on Cornwallis, Clarendon, Gloucester, Holbeck and Buckingham roads.

Haverhill Safer Neighbourhood Team's officer dedicated to the estate, PC Simon Bourne, said there had been a very good turnout from the agencies and very good feedback from residents.

The majority of issues raised were about fire checks and smoke alarm, which would be dealt with by the fire service.

The teams also looked into damaged or vacant garages.

PC Bourne said they had carried out a number of patrols around the estate at night and so far it seemed to have deterred whoever was responsible for the arson attacks. The switching on of bthe street lights had also helped, he said.

Havebury chief executive Karen Mayhew explained that the response from residents was very positive. “They filled in questionnaires and feedback forms as well as chatting face to face with officers from all the agencies,” she said.

“In the main, they were very content with life on the estate and are happy with their neighbourhood. This was very encouraging for Havebury and the other organisations taking part - although we certainly won’t rest on our laurels in the future.”

On a practical level, eight home fire safety checks were booked in and graffiti was cleaned from street signs, while a number of residents were advised to put their bins back in their gardens. A contaminated bin was emptied for one new resident, while others were given advice about recycling.

Mrs Mayhew added: “It was an extremely useful day, both for residents and us as organisations. The multi-agency approach works very well and it’s one we are likely to repeat in the future.”