Police officers out on Halloween faced abuse as they patrolled Southampton looking to keep a tight lid on anti-social behaviour.

This comes after children as young as 11 have been seen with knives and wearing balaclavas recently.

The Daily Echo joined patrol officers tonight in Millbrook and Shirley as rain poured down - a welcome boost to officers' efforts in keeping things calm.

At one point the team - out on one of the busiest nights for policing - faced a slew of anti-police slurs shouted at them by youngsters.

The group ran onto Mansel Park - with Inspector Mark Kingston's team quick to follow and engage with them.

In the lead up to Halloween this year police have dealt with children as young as 11 out with knives. This incident did not happen while the Echo was observing the patrol.

Daily Echo: Officers patrolled the streets of Millbrook and Shirley

It comes after ugly scenes in 2021 when gangs of 20 to 30 youths flipped cars in the Maybush area of the city,

Insp Kingston's team - following success last year - has been keen to identify ringleaders, disperse large groups and promote the youth clubs on offer in the area - all in a bid to help prevent and deter anti-social behaviour.

Inspector Kingston said: “During Halloween in 2021 we had a terrible time at Halloween. We had large groups with face masks, carrying weapons engaging in serious anti-social behaviour – it was very serious disorder.

“We reviewed our Halloween policy for 2022 and managed to halve the number of incidents from the year prior.

“We always see a huge spike in antisocial behaviour on Halloween night, particularly involving groups of teens from the age of only 11 right up to the age of 17.

“We have identified a core group of ring leaders – that are known to us for frequently engaging in anti-social behaviour - and a number of their associates.

“We don’t want that group to spoil an evening of enjoyment for Southampton residents who want to celebrate Halloween.”

Daily Echo: Groups of teens ran on to the green after shouting anti-police slurs at patrol cars

By tackling the ringleaders of large groups taking part in antisocial behaviour, the police can minimise the risk to the public and the large groups can be dispersed.

Police also spoke with residents this evening - reassuring them of the work being done.

Insp Kingston added: “To deal with these (anti-social) groups the police have a number of options at their disposal.

“One of these methods is a Section 50 of the Police Reform Act which allows us to gather the name and address of someone engaging in anti-social behaviour.

“This also allows police officers to seize any items that may be used to engage in anti-social activity – that could be a face mask, eggs, flour or spray paint.

Officers also have Section 34 dispersal areas in place this evening. This allows them to direct offenders out of the area for a period of time.

In this case the dispersal is in place until 4am on Wednesday.