A 13-YEAR-OLD boy is set to appear in a court following a crackdown on anti-social behaviour in Shepton Mallet.

The boy was interviewed following high profile patrols led by Shepton Mallet's neighbourhood policing team.

It follows complaints from members of the public and traders about anti-social behaviour, particularly at weekends.

The 13-year-old boy voluntarily attended a police station and was reported for summons on suspicion of a number of offences including theft and public order and breach of a dispersal order.

Police say he has been reported for summons to Somerset Youth Court.

Shepton Mallet beat manager PC Heather Anderton said: “We would like to reassure the public that we take all reports very seriously and are dealing with matters positively, using all appropriate powers we have.

Police have issued a number of dispersal orders to teenagers over the past three weekends to help combat the anti-social behaviour problems in the town.

On February 8 police held a multi-agency meeting with local schools, social services and the youth offending team to ensure a joined-up approach to dealing with the problems.

Fellow Shepton Mallet beat manager PC George Simpson added: “We would encourage local businesses and members of the community to continue to be our eyes and ears on the ground and report anti-social behaviour problems so that we can take a robust approach to deal with them.”