A VILLAGE'S community leaders are celebrating the success of efforts to steer children away from anti-social behaviour - but have warned that more work is needed.

The unruly behaviour of youngsters in Middleton St George has been a cause for concern in recent months.

The problems have centred around the Water Park area, with large groups of youths congregating there to drink alcohol and take drugs.

Parish councillors took action last month to try to cut the number of incidents, hosting an open day to show the positive activities available to local youngsters.

Council chairman Doris Jones said: "A lot of the children who came along that day have become hooked on fishing and shown a big interest in the model boats.

"If we have helped some children in the village find new hobbies, that's fantastic."

However, discarded cans of beer and lager are still being found at the Water Park at the weekends.

Councillor Jones said: "It's hard work cleaning up after some of them. In fairness, I have some sympathy for the kids in a village where there is limited scope for them to let off steam.

"They're very crowded in by housing estates. However, they still need to behave like civilised human beings and stay away from the drink and the drugs."