A PETITION with more than 900 signatures has been handed to MP Alan Whitehead.

Residents and business owners from Shirley signed the petition, which calls for the Southampton Test MP to raise the issue of a “severely underfunded” police force in the House of Commons.

The petition was set up by Tony Weafer, the founder of Shirley Be Proud group, after Hampshire police issued a two-day dispersal order in October, following 87 incidences of anti-social behaviour were reported in the high street in five months.

After meeting with Tony at his constituency clinic on Saturday, Mr Whitehead said: “It’s a tremendous piece of work from Tony and his group to get that concentration of support for what they’re saying.

“What I said to Tony, is that I intend to place this as a petition to Parliament.

“Tony is absolutely right, and this is a situation that I have been raising on a number of occasions in Parliament with my colleagues.

“The fact is overall police numbers since 2010 have been cut about 20%, and it looks like in this city the numbers are down about 30%.

“The second question I have, is are the resources in Hampshire being properly distributed in the force, and I will raise that with Michael Lane when I see him at the end of the month.”

Tony Weafer said: “I am most impressed about the prominent aspects, and I come away from this feeling very happy that the work I’ve done in promoting and organising this petition will now be carried forward.”