Town welcomes yob crackdown (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Town welcomes yob crackdown

SHIPSTON residents have welcomed measures to crack down on anti-social behaviour in the town.

Keith Clarke, of Bay Avenue, spoke out after town resident Kerry Dean Bradley, of West Street, was given a three-year anti-social behaviour order last month. In separate proceedings, he was also sentenced to nine months in a young offenders' institute after pleading guilty to affray.

Mr Clarke says he clashed with Bradley in April this year and said he is not the only one to suffer at the hands of the 19-year-old.

"I'm pleased something has been done but I'm not happy the sentence is enough. It should be a lot harder and a lot longer.

"There is an element of yob culture in the town but it seems to have died down. Some of the problems have moved from the town centre to residential areas where there are no CCTV cameras. Groups of youths have been known to intimidate people on a daily basis but if they let them know they are frightened they have, in fact, won. "

The three-year order bans Bradley from drinking in public. He is also prohibited from being under the influence of alcohol or any other drug in public and must not harass or cause alarm or distress to anyone in a public place.

Speaking after the recent court case, his grandmother, Linda Bradley said: "I'm relieved it was only a nine month sentence. He has lost around a stone in weight since being in the youth offenders' institution and he was dreading it being any longer."

She added she did not believe the ASBO was deserved in the case of her grandson.

She said: "A lot of young kids are out there drinking in Shipston, he's not the only one. I think the police have just clamped down and made an example of him."

Warwickshire police spokeswoman Cathy Ward said: "If anyone has any specific concerns about nuisance behaviour then they should contact the police so that they can set up an action plan and patrols can target the areas affected."