Gangs of unruly youths drinking and fighting in Feltham town centre could soon become a thing of the past thanks to two new police initiatives.
Fresh from a successful summer campaign which cut the number of calls from desperate town centre residents by 30 per cent, cops in Feltham are hoping a new dispersal zone will help them further disrupt violent teen gangs.
Sgt Nick Varns, of Feltham West Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: "We upped the number of officers on the streets at the ends of the week and saw a rapid fall in the number of incidents and complaints."
He believes the combination of taking some of the worst offenders off the street and showing others they genuinely risk arrest has discouraged further attacks.
"We've had some good successes over the past few months and we're hoping to keep crime levels down or push them even lower," he said. "This dispersal zone will help by allowing us to send kids home if they're causing trouble. If they refuse to move on we'll arrest them."
The zone, which comes into force at 9am, on October 27, stretches from Highfield Road up to Fern Grove and from Southern Avenue, in the east, to the far edge of The Green.
It will last for six months and will be slightly larger than the similar zone which ended nearly a year ago.
Inside the designated area officers will be able to send home unsupervised under-16s, who are out after 9pm, or any group causing intimidation or distress to members of the public. They will then be forbidden from returning for 24 hours.
A contolled drinking zone is also likely to follow.
