THE fight against anti-social behaviour is taking a step further with the introduction of a 24-hour telephone line.

The line is being introduced from May 11 by Safer Communities Partnership: North Yorkshire Moors and Coast.

It is particularly aimed at people reporting intimidation and harassment, nuisance neighbours, abandoned vehicles, rowdy behaviour, street drinking, drug dealers, fly-tipping, vandalism, rubbish, graffiti and litter.

It is hoped that the initiative will help police and other agencies to tackle the problems and improve the quality of life for residents.

Co-ordinator Drew Fussey said: "This will give people the chance to inform the relevant agencies about things that they might not normally report quickly and easily.

"It will help people across the whole borough, including the rural areas, to bring all sorts of anti-social behaviour to the attention of the right people."

He said people's first call for urgent incidents should still be the police, council or their housing association.

"But the purpose of the reporting line is for people to be able to report low-level things that are not being resolved or seem to be ongoing," he said.

"Evidence shows that some people do not like to give their name and address when they are reporting things, and this can be a barrier to getting important information to the police or other agencies.

"The new reporting line will enable people to report anti-social behaviour anonymously in the knowledge that it will be picked up by the relevant agency."

The number to ring is (01723) 384444.