AN EAST Cleveland village has called a public meeting to tackle the problem of youth disorder.

Brotton is gearing itself up to fight back in the wake of a church being wrecked and a school bus set alight. Elderly people are said to be scared to leave their homes at night.

Coun Richard Rudland said: "As a society we can't keep turning our backs on this. It is time we faced it head-on."

Villagers are being urged to attend Tuesday's meeting to help councillors and police find a solution to anti-social behaviour. In the latest outbreak of vandalism, windows at the Methodist church were broken and other damage was caused. Repairs were carried out, but within weeks the same thing happened again.

"Vandalism and anti-social behaviour are endemic in this country, but Brotton is only a small place and to start getting this sort of thing is very worrying," said Coun Rudland.

He said residents had a good relationship with police and officers had been into the village to deal with various problems.

"But we can't keep having this going on and turning our backs on it as a society. Let's see if we can get a team together to reduce this problem," he said. "It's easy to say we need to do something but the next stage is the hard part - what? A partnership is needed to help us move forward."

Coun Rudland and his colleague on Redcar and Cleveland council, Coun Brian Hogg, have both surveyed the area at night and been surprised at the sudden appearance of large groups of up to 30 youngsters.

Coun Rudland said the "high wall" area of Brotton had always been a meeting place for young people. "But elderly people are scared to go to their own homes at night," he said. "I want everyone to be free to come and go whatever their age, but we are not having that sort of thing.

"We have a lot of young people in Brotton and most don't cause any trouble at all. We have to provide facilities for them and tackle those responsible for the bad things which are going on.

"Rather than keep pushing this issue around, it is time we faced it."

Tuseday's meeting is at the Methodist church at 7.30. Council leader, Coun David Walsh, will attend along with lead councillor for community safety, Coun Dave McLuckie.

Insp Tom Brown, Sgt Dave Lister and community PC Rachael Dick will represent the police.

"We need residents to come and give their views to help us come up with ideas on how to move forward," said Coun Hogg.