A RESIDENT living near a Taunton park is hitting out against anti-social behaviour.

A man, who asked not to be named, reached out to Avon and Somerset Police and Taunton Deane Borough Council (TDBC) as he felt he and his family were being targeted by a group of teenagers in Hamilton Park.

He said: "It starts at the beginning of every summer.

"Teenagers start to gather in the park every night around 7pm and they stay until the early hours of the morning.

"I think they are taking part in underage drinking and they always leave the children's park in an absolute state with litter everywhere."

The first incident that was cause for concern for the nearby residents was a series of fireworks let off from the park late at night. A PCSO was called and spoke with the teens in the park.

According to one local resident, this sparked new anti-social behaviour. He said the youths knock on his door and ring his doorbell repeatedly most nights, and have smashed the side gate to his house and had his recycling strewn across his drive. He has three children and he says this sort of behaviour makes him fear for his family's safety.

He said: "My son uses the skatepark, but we have to plan to go at certain times to avoid them.

"This sort of behaviour ruins it for the people that want to use the park properly."

He believes there are two solutions to this problem, either removing the skatepark completely, or installing CCTV in the area.

He added: "Removing the skatepark would be the most extreme solution, but that means a lot of people that use the park properly would miss out.

"I think the best course of action is to install CCTV in the area, that way the police will have official identification of the young people causing the problems and they wont have to rely on my descriptions."

A spokesman from TDBC said: "Anti-social behaviour is a clear priority for the Halcon One Team.

"Professionals from all agencies meet three mornings a week, reviewing and assessing all local demand, ensuring residents are supported whatever their complaint may or may not be.

"In this particular case, police community support officer Tony Stone has been supporting the victims, offering valuable advice, dedicated himself as a single point of contact, whilst working tirelessly to identify those youngster involved, ensuring they are held to account.

"The investment in facilities in Hamilton Park provides real community benefit and most of those who use the area do so legally and with a great deal of enjoyment.

"It is worth noting, that this current group aren’t from the East Taunton area, though we are determined to ensure each are held accountable."

In an email to the resident from a community and client services manager for TDBC, it was explained that CCTV had been considered, but the option wasn't ideal due to financial costs. The council believes it would not be a solution to the problem and it would be more effective to have the police talk to the young people involved.