The residents feel intimidated, the teenagers feel bored, and the Highworth youth centre is being blamed, reports LYNDSAY SCANLAN.

IN A corner of Highworth a run-down looking youth centre is in darkness on a Friday night.

Inside taped to the wall is a large sheet of paper which reads: "We maintain a safe, non-threatening, non-aggressive and friendly environment for all young people."

But this safe and non-aggressive place only opens its doors three times a week.

For the other four nights, including the weekend, teenagers have nowhere to go.

And this is what many people think sparks most of Newburgh Place's problems.

Looking out over Newburgh Place on a warm evening at the end of the week you would expect to see the so-called yobs who police say have been threatening residents. By 8pm a gang of around 20 teenagers gathered outside the shopping parade.

They were not smoking or drinking or taking drugs.

Today police are introducing a six-month dispersal order on the area, including in front of the youth centre.

The order means that groups of two or more people who are causing trouble can be moved on and face arrest if they refuse.

But the majority of the teenagers on Friday night who were aged between 14 and 16 did not do anything anti-social.

A smaller crowd of boys that barely looked old enough to leave primary school joined the group at about 8.30pm.

They were sat on the floor and on the green bench.

Some were shouting, some were laughing and some were swearing.

One boy wearing a white tracksuit, with a hood attached to the jacket, threw some small stones in the direction of a girl wearing a bright pink tracksuit and they ran around for a bit.

It looked like the older boys ruled this gang and the girls followed behind them.

After an hour they got bored wandering around by the shops and left.

For me, a girl in her mid-20s, this group did not look very intimidating.

But this area is largely populated by pensioners and the police and residents say there have been clear problems around here for months.

In front of the shops is Newburgh House, a block of warden-controlled flats for pensioners and to the left are old people's bungalows, recognisable by the handrails to steady the walk to the front door, neat gardens and net curtains.

And you can understand why these residents would feel intimidated by a gang that is reported to sometimes swell to more than 30.

One 76-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, said: "I live on my own and these kids are out here every night.

"It's okay in the day but at night you can't see what they're doing and if they stand outside my house I can hear them shouting and laughing.

"They have knocked on my windows at night but I don't open the door because I don't know who they are."

The police say a small number have stepped over the line, throwing stones at the bungalow windows, smashing shop windows and generally being a nuisance.

And it is these teenagers that have been casting a grey cloud over Newburgh Place.

Brian Evans, the landlord of the Goldfinger Tavern, said: "You get the bad apple in every bunch but that doesn't mean all the kids out there are bad.

"There have been the odd problems. The funeral directors have had the windows smashed a few times and I had to go outside once when a few of the lads were getting a bit boisterous but that's it.

"They're not out there drinking or doing drugs because everyone can see them.

"The problem is when this order comes in they're going to move on somewhere else and that might be worse because they will be out of sight."

He added: "They need something to do because at the moment there is nothing."

Pippa Taylor, 43, who lives near Newburgh Place, said: "You get a few who have shoplifted and are being stupid but it's nothing that serious. I'm worried that the kids who hang around here will start going into town where the older ones hang around and they get into more trouble."

Dispersal order helped to stop anti-social behaviour

LAST August a dispersal order was introduced in the High Street area of Highworth.

The order was granted for six months and police believed it would help them deal with people who were intimidating, harassing, alarming or causing distress to residents and local businesses.

It followed a spate of problems including damage to St Michael's Church and other things such as graffiti.

Police said there was a gang of about 20 teenagers who they needed to move away from the area.

And police said the order showed a 50 per cent decrease in reported incidents of anti-social behaviour and a 60 per cent reduction in associated reported crime.

Town is lacking entertainment

HIGHWORTH Youth Centre is open on Mondays and Wednesdays for general use where young people can meet up in the safe and non-aggressive environment that the banner in the foyer suggests.

On a Tuesday night the Duke of Edinburgh Award is run in the centre, which anyone aged 14 to 25 can join in with. But for the four other nights of the week, which includes the weekend, the centre is closed.

Coun Melanie Duff, a Conservative who represents the town on Swindon Council, recognises the town is lacking in entertainment for teenagers.

"We have had talks to discuss the youth centre," she said. "It is not the most attractive building. It is quite run down and doesn't really inspire young people to respect it.

"We have talked about moving the youth centre to another location in Highworth.

"We also have a full-time youth worker starting in July."

She added: "Not all the kids in Highworth are bad. There is a group of around 20 who cause problems, which have been pretty bad at Newburgh Place but there are many other young people in Highworth who do not cause any problems."

"I think the dispersal order will work at Newburgh Place but these kids will move on somewhere else."