FOLLOWING a spate of anti-social behaviour the mayor of the Test Valley has said police numbers need to increase.

Romsey neighbourhood team has been out tackling anti-social behaviour in Romsey, North Baddesley, Nursling, Rownhams and Valley Park.

When out on patrol on Wednesday, February 15 night, officers caught two young males riding e-scooters along Braishfield Road but let them off with a warning.

Mayor of Test Valley, Cllr Allan Dowden has said he doesn’t “believe that the police are doing enough” due to “insufficient numbers”.

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Nevertheless, the Valley Park councillor agreed that youngsters should be given a warning first even though it is illegal to use e-scooters on the road or in public spaces.

On Wednesday, February 15 Test Valley Cops posted on Facebook: “We stumbled upon what appeared to be a noisy gathering at the park on Woodley Green and given that we have had a number of reports of anti-social behaviour and drug use at this location, we decided to have a wee chat with them. They initially scarpered but after a brisk walk after them, they soon returned thinking we had left. We obtained their details, moved them along and gave them words of advice about their conduct in the community.

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“To add to this wonderful story, moments later, two males were riding an E-Scooter on Braishfield Road! Couldn't make this up! Like the other youths, words of advice were given and we explained that we WILL seize it if we see them on it again! Follow up visits with parents and prosecutions may follow.”

Cllr Dowden said: “Police are doing their best but numbers are insufficient. If there were more police on the beat I don’t think these youngsters would do it.

“I do my best to clear graffiti as quickly as possible but it’s an unnecessary cost that could be avoided with more officers. It’s unfortunate that the minority of youngsters think it’s clever to do silly things.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: “Anti-social behaviour can have a real impact on people’s quality of life, which is why we take it seriously and use different powers at our disposal to reduce it.

“We regularly patrol areas in the town and we always encourage people to report these issues to us, so we can plan where and when we patrol. We also work with our partners in the community so that young people have options of activities to take part in.

“While we do have certain powers available to us, such as dispersal orders and community protection notices, sometimes it is just as effective and proportionate to take people’s details and ask them to move on, as happened on this occasion. This can be followed up with the parents of those involved where necessary.

“We are committed to providing regular and visible policing in our communities. As a force, we are on track to hit the national uplift target, meaning that we will have more than 600 extra officers by March 31 this year compared to March 29 2020.”

Cllr Nick Adams-King: “It was great to see the police actively tackling anti social behaviour around Romsey recently. Their involvement in the Romsey Future 11-16 ‘hang outs’ showed proactive engagement with local young people and the incidents reported have shown their commitment to enforcement too.

"It’s good to know too that they will be following through in engaging with the parents of those involved. The solution to many of the recent problems lies very often with families themselves."