Trouble is making

11:03am Sunday 1st May 2005

ANTISOCIAL behaviour was top of the agenda during a residents' question time event.

More than 170 people packed the school hall at Petts Hill Primary School, Newmarket Avenue, Northolt, last Thursday night to grill police, the council and some prospective MPs for the area.

Linda Koupparis, chair of Danemead Grove and Petts Hill Residents Association, and one of the organisers of the event, said: "Antisocial behaviour is of great concern for all the residents and we are now considering holding a meeting in the future on this subject alone.

"At meetings like these the residents get a chance to voice their concerns while also keeping our local representatives on their toes and abreast of local issues which concern us all."

John Rossi, 67, of Churchill Court, Northolt, was one of the residents who challenged the panel on antisocial behaviour as he says he has had to put up with it for more than 15 years.

He said: "I have been subject to noise nuisance and I have had to sue people because of it. These people have made my life absolutely hell and the council has done nothing about it.

"The amount of anti-social behaviour in this area is absolutely dreadful.

"We have had graffiti damage, gangs of youths congregating on the steps of our communal block causing a nuisance. It's been a nightmare."

Ealing Council say it has undertaken a number of initiatives to tackle antisocial behaviour in Northolt, such as Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs), Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and Dispersal Orders and will continue to do so.

Natalie Pace, Ealing Council's antisocial behaviour co-ordinator, told the Times: "We take any concerns or incidents that residents raise with us seriously and work with the police to implement appropriate measures to reduce anti-social and nuisance behaviour.

"The council works closely with local police and other agencies to monitor antisocial behaviour and respond to it using the powers we have under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003."

The police say they are also tackling antisocial behaviour and are doing everything they can within their powers to bring offenders before the courts.