ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour is the biggest concern for the people of South Gloucestershire, an in-depth study has revealed.

Underage drinking, vandalism and large gatherings of teenagers are the main causes for concern among residents, the review by South Gloucestershire Council has found.

Cllr Dave Hockey (Lib Dem, Frampton Cotterell ), chairman of the council’s communities select committee which carried out the two-year investigation, said: "It is very clear that members of the community see this as a priority.

"The overall aim is to reduce anti-social behaviour. We have a challenge but our anti-social behaviour team is the best in the West.

"It is extremely dynamic and during the process of this review the team picked up recommendations and has already implemented them."

Cllr Hockey and other councillors joined police on patrol at anti-social hotspots to find out how bad the problems were.

"Some of it was shocking and all of it was enlightening," he said.

"We met 19 victims of anti-social behaviour and heard their stories and the problems they had suffered."

He said there was a prevalence of alcohol problems with people aged under 18 and that an increasing number of disputes between neighbours had been noted.

In all, the review panel made 16 recommendations to tackle anti-social behaviour across South Gloucestershire including forming a list of hot spots, asking local police to attend parish and town council meetings, using mediation techniques in neighbourly disputes and implementing taxi marshalling schemes to encourage pub-goers to go home more quickly after closing time.

Restorative justice initiatives, which see vandals and graffiti artists forced to clean up the damage they cause and apologise to property owners, will be used more frequently and the results will be publicised in an attempt to reduce the fear of crime.

Action weeks will be organised in problem areas and conditional cautions for alcohol offences by people aged over 18 will be brought in.

Cllr Ruth Davis (Lib Dem, Yate Central) said: "There is an anti-social behaviour hot spot at Abbotswood in Yate for which we get dispersal orders.

"Young people were going into shops and hurling abuse and causing problems, which constituted a dispersal order. That was anti-social behaviour because of what some people were doing.

"I want some reassurance that we do not automatically assume that just because there are more than 10 young people in one spot they are causing anti-social behaviour."

Cllr Brian Allinson (Con, Stoke Gifford) said that despite the problems in South Gloucestershire, the district’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team was doing an excellent job.

He said: "This is an area of concern and one that probably affects more people in South Gloucestershire than any other.

"This is a deeply researched and wide-ranging report that covers so much ground and remains focused.

"South Gloucestershire has an awful lot to be proud of."