Young village troublemakers under curfew (From Wiltshire Times)

Young village troublemakers under curfew

4:11pm Friday 19th January 2007 in Melksham By Craig Evry

YOUNG troublemakers in a west Wiltshire village have been put under curfew by their parents to stem a spate of anti-social behaviour.

Problems in Whitley, near Melksham, were first reported in the Wiltshire Times in November.

In one of the most serious incidents, young yobs turned a road into a death trap by tying a rope between scaffolding on the Reading Rooms and a gatepost on the other side of the road.

Wiltshire Police, West Wiltshire District Council, Wiltshire County Council and housing associations joined forces through the West Wiltshire anti-social behaviour panel to tackle the problems in the village, concentrating on the Eden Grove and Brookfield Rise areas. Letters were sent out to parents of known troublemakers and members of the panel called at their homes.

Steph White, an anti-social behaviour reduction officer with the partnership, said: "It appeared that these problems had been going on for some time, but they hadn't been reported to either the council or the police.

"Once we were made aware of the issue we were able to take some action and there has been a marked improvement.

"A number of parents have now put their children under curfew, while others have organised a rota to provide transport to youth clubs and other activities. This has been extremely welcome."

Maggie Ledbury, police community support officer for Atworth and Whitley, said: "Many of these young people didn't fully appreciate that their behaviour was upsetting to other people, and some parents didn't realise that their children were out with such a large group.

"Since the letter drop, things have improved and I am hopeful that this will continue."

Problems in the village included criminal damage, verbal intimidation, assault and allegations of underage sex between children as young as 12.

Cllr Terry Chivers, the district councillor for Atworth and Whitley said up to a dozen young people were "out of control".