YOUNGSTERS suspected of causing trouble in Pinehurst were ordered back home to their parents on Monday night.

A duty police inspector signed a Section 35 dispersal order in a bid to tackle a wave of anti-social behaviour. Police officers hit the streets, using the additional powers under the order to send home those suspected of being behind the trouble.

One Pinehurst man told the Advertiser yesterday the trouble with groups of youths was on the rise, complaining of motorbikes being stolen and windows smashed.

Insp Andy Bridge of North Swindon Police said the dispersal order had been signed-off after a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour and disorder on Monday afternoon.

The Section 35 order allowed officers to move on people congregating in the Circle, Beech Avenue and Tree Courts area. No one was arrested.

“This is a minority group of people who seem to be out there to cause problems for the majority who just want to lead a peaceful life in what is a nice area,” Insp Bridge said.

Addressing the troublemakers directly, he added: “If you choose to behave in the way we saw on Monday night, we will take steps to stop this behaviour. I would ask you to think about the affect your behaviour is having on others. We will continue to deal with it and we will not tolerate it.”

In recent months, police have stepped up patrols and raids in a crackdown on the youth gangs making residents’ lives hell.

In November, a specialist Wiltshire Police team seized £10,000 cash, cannabis with a street value of £3,000, five motorbikes, two quad bikes and nine bicycles when they raided a house on Beech Avenue.

Following that raid, Swindon policing commander Supt Adrian Burt blasted the minority behind anti-social behaviour, thefts and drug dealing in the area.

“We will be absolutely relentless in dealing with these issues which have blighted the lives of many generations of decent, honest, hardworking people in this area,” he said.

“For years it’s been the case of the small minority spoiling it for the majority in Pinehurst. That is going to stop.”

Yesterday, Pinehurst resident John Perry said the recent police activity did not appear to be having an effect – and urged that more was on offer for children in the area. The 27-year-old said: “They’re around here causing a lot of problems, smashing locals’ windows and riding stolen motorbikes around. I don’t let my nephews play out after 6pm because it’s getting rough.”

When police seized the gangs’ bikes it “fired them up to get more”. He suggested more could be done to provide activities for youngsters in the area.

Last year, Central Swindon North Parish Council employed social worker Aaron Webb. Part of his brief is tackling anti-social behaviour in the parish.