SOUTHAMPTON residents have shared their concerns on anti-social behaviour.

Police held a ‘street meet’ in Mansbridge, where members of the Neighbourhood Policing Team were joined by a Radian Homes neighbourhood officer and councillors for the Swaythling ward.

There, residents met the team and shared any concerns they have in the area.

The residents spoke about anti-social behaviour and the lack of police presence in the Monks Way area of Mansbridge.

Vince Walker-Harris, one of those who spoke to the police, said: “You have problems like anti-social behaviour and theft of motorbikes and cars.

“It’s a lack of police presence, and if you try to report it, it takes time for anything to happen.

“It makes you wonder why you are reporting it.

“I know police have done as much as they can, but what happens to the criminals?

“They keep reoffending.”

Despite only a few residents turning out to meet the officers, door knocks were also carried out to reassure locals that they were there.

Police community safety officer Bob Stafford said: “We carried out a leaflet drop in the area to let the public know we were going to be here.

“It’s good to give the public reassurance that we’re here.

“If we get reports of crimes in a certain area, we like to go to that location and look at fixing problems.”

Cara Headon, neighbourhood officer at Radian Homes, which owns some of the properties in the area, said: “We want to speak to residents to see if they have any anti-social behaviour concerns.

“We get a lot of reports from the police and we don’t seem to get many witness statements.

“We aim to explain to people how they can report crime and anti-social behaviour and remain anonymous using tools like Crimestoppers.”

Swaythling ward councillor Sharon Mintoff said: “This shows there is a police presence as there are reports of anti-social behaviour here.

“Mansbridge can feel like it’s forgotten, so it’s good to see something like this happening.”

Fellow ward councillor Lorna Fielker added: “Labour has written to the police and crime commissioner, Michael Lane, asking him to make available funding for at least two officers in each of the city’s eight policing teams, meaning we can have more officers on the beat.

“We believe people should feel safe where they live and that means having a properly supported police service.”