Teen park concerns

FED up residents are calling for a crackdown on rowdy youths who are causing havoc in a peaceful Clevedon park.Gangs of teenage yobs have been meeting up at Herbert Gardens at Herbert Road until the early hours, smoking, drinking and vandalising the beauty spot.The bad behaviour comes just weeks after Clevedon Town Council ploughed £7,000 into improving the area, tidying up overgrown hedges, building new walls and installing new benches.Nearby residents say they are fed up of being kept awake at night and the damage being caused to the park.Clevedon Town Council amenities committee chairman Carl Francis Pester said he had received complaints from local residents.He said: "There has been quite a lot of graffiti daubed on the walls in the park as well as litter left strewn all over the place."We have received reports of youngsters gathering up there at night and causing problems and there has been a fair amount of damage."This is a real shame as the council has just spent a substantial amount of money on this area."It is not only a park for people to enjoy but somewhere where trees have been planted and benches installed by people in memory of their loved ones where they can come to remember them."Cllr Francis-Pester said the problems had been reported to police and he was pressing for extra patrols of the area in a bid to crackdown on the problem.He added: "I would like to see more regular police patrols of the area as this would act as a deterrent to any potential troublemakers."Clevedon Police Community Sergeant Pete Abrams said: "There have been issues at Herbert Gardens."We have removed young people from the area and taken them back home to their parents to discuss incidents of minor damage and anti-social behaviour."Herbert Gardens is one of our core patrol areas and recently the problems down there seem to have been resolved."If the council wishes to highlight any issues of concern then I will be more than happy to talk to them.