PEOPLE in and around Thirsk are calling for greater police presence to tackle anti-social behaviour.

A petition calling for a more visible and active police presence was presented to the Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, during his visit last Friday. Della Cannings, chief constable of North Yorkshire, was also shown the signatures.

The 85-signature petition was presented by Gareth Dadd, who hopes to stand as a Conservative county council candidate for Thirsk. He said a recent survey in the town had been completed by 200 people, with every one citing anti-social behaviour and lack of police presence as a major concern. "The lack of policing in the immediate area is appalling," said Mr Dadd.

"We want officers to be present and visible and allow people to visit the town without the fear of anti-social behaviour. The problems just rumble on. Thirsk is one of the safer towns, but people also need to feel that they are safe. Visible officers would help that."

The call for increased policing has been echoed in Sowerby, following an incident on Friday, February 4, when about 20 youths descended on a children's park for an evening of drinking.

In a letter to the D&S Times, one resident has complained that police took more than two hours to respond when calls were made to report bottles being thrown, garden chairs broken and strewn around, and passers-by being subjected to a torrent of swearing and verbal abuse.

Robert Minican said the police were first called at 6.45, then at 7.15, but officers did not arrive until 9pm. He was told the delay was due to the fact that only one female police officer was on duty that night.

Mr Minican urged Ms Cannings to tackle the problem, saying: "This was not an isolated event because in the better weather it happens every Friday."

Anne McIntosh, MP for the Vale of York, said she hoped presenting the petition to the Home Secretary would draw the attention to the issues. "Anti-social behaviour in the area is an increasing problem, and the police and Hambleton District Council must be given the power to act to ensure peoples' lives are not blighted by a selfish and thoughtless minority," said Miss McIntosh.

Insp John Richardson, who joins Thirsk police on March 1 and formerly lived in the town, said: "Thirsk is not under-represented by officers. Staff levels are determined according to the level of crime, and we have to work within the resources we are allocated. However, anti-social behaviour is something we take seriously. A house burglary may affect just one resident, but a group of young people causing trouble on a street every weekend causes distress to a lot of people."

Overall crime levels in the town had dropped by 28pc in the last year, while the number of dwelling burglaries were down by 56pc and auto-crime was down by 43pc. He said a new police community support officer had been appointed, bringing the total to five.

Insp Richardson said the new briefing station on the York Road industrial estate housed armed response vehicles, dog handlers and traffic police, which all contributed to tackling problems in Thirsk.

He said: "We make the best use tactically of the officers we have, and also others around the area for added support. Bringing down crime in the town not only means fewer victims, but also less time spent on investigations which keep officers off the street."