A new 'traffic-light' scheme to tackle such offending was explained by Sgt Jane Poole, of Hucknall police, at this week's meeting of the town's Partnership Group.

She said the ground-breaking strategy worked on the basis of how many complaints were made about young people misbehaving.

One means a GREEN light, two an AMBER light and three or more a RED light.

Sgt Poole said: "If the red-light stage is reached, we step in with intervention.

"We engage with the offenders and involve their parents in an attempt to put the youngsters on the right track."

She said this approach paid dividends with a teenager who had truanted

but was now back at school and had shown a 'dramatic' improvement in his behaviour.

Sgt Poole said the policy was proving 'a bit more difficult' for other youngsters engaged with but it 'would take time.'

She stressed: "We are absolutely determined to reduce anti-social behaviour in Hucknall."

Attempts are being made to get offending youngsters to enter into 'behaviour contracts' tailored to their needs.

Anti-social behaviour comprises a range of problems, including noisy neighbours, abandoned cars, vandalism, graffiti, litter and intimidating groups.

It creates an environment where crime can take hold and affect people's everyday lives.

Coun John Wilmott, a Hucknall Labour member of Ashfield District Council. said one hotspot was the town's Titchfield Park.

"Elderly people are now frightened to go there," he claimed. "We want to regain ownership of the park, which has been lost in various ways. We want a safer park for the people."

A report to an Ashfield Council scrutiny panel showed Hucknall East ward to be the district's fifth-worst area for rowdy behaviour

Hucknall West ward was Ashfield's third-worst for vehicle nuisance and the fourth-worst for criminal damage.

Perhaps surprisingly, Hucknall West was the worst area in the town for street drinking – a good deal higher than the town centre.

The scrutiny panel is currently investigating anti-social behaviour, which has also been chosen by Ashfield Partnership Against Crime (APAC) as one of their three priority issues for the year ahead.