RESIDENTS hope that Walcot’s answer to Beirut can return to peace and quiet after youths were named and shamed in court.

Yesterday, eight boys aged between 15 and 18 were given interim anti-social behaviour orders in response to a string of offences in Sussex Square - an area once likened to Beirut by charity owner, Peter Mallinson.

Now, residents and businesses in the area, who have long complained about youths who have plagued the square, hope that the court order will act as a deterrent against further offences.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear she would be targeted by the youths, said: “I think it’s a good thing they have been given an interim ASBO.

“Whether the other youths will take much notice we’ll find out but if they do then it will be a good thing.

“I was told that actually it had been getting better around there recently and everybody was feeling a bit safer, and hopefully this will help.

“I think particularly the elderly were getting put off from visiting the square because of the anti-social behaviour and were feeling very intimidated about it.

“Anything that can help make people feel safer about going there has to be a good thing. I just hope it works.”

The Walcot Charity Shop and Community Library has been one of the sites most affected by anti-social behaviour in the square.

The shop was nearly permanently closed after a football smashed a window in the shop last December, frightening staff and causing the chairman, Peter Mallison, to voice volunteers’ concerns for their safety.

“I do think it’s a shame that it has taken a court order to tell these youngsters how to behave, and hopefully it will make them realise that it’s not the way to behave,” he said.

“I have noticed over the last few weeks that it has quietened down quite a lot, and clearly this has something to do with it.

“In fact it is almost like we are back to normality.

“But what these youths really need is a role model, and to have something they can take responsibility and be proud of something for.

“If anyone has any ideas for how we can work with these youths then we’re open to ideas.”

But Carolanne Bond, of nearby Lennox Drive, frequently visits the Square and says she has never felt intimidated by them.

She said: “I don’t find them intimidating. I go over there on my mobility scooter and I say hello and they say hello back.

“They are just going there to hang out because they haven’t got anywhere else to go. They’re just doing what we all did when we were kids.

“The problem is that they put a dispersal order on there, but it’s not enforced.”

The teens handed ASBOs have been banned from associating with one another, entering Sussex Square or Marlowe Avenue shops, or being in a group of four or more people in a way likely to cause harassment.

The interim orders will last until April 15, with a review hearing set to take place on Tuesday, April 14.