FED UP residents in a Hampshire community say they want more action to stop vandals before their criminal damage escapades escalate out of control.

Neighbours in North Baddesley suffered a week-long wrecking spree that saw garden gate posts and brick walls knocked down as well as the vandalism of a £3,000 bus shelter.

Parish council chairman Alan Dowden is now calling on police to be more proactive in their approach to antisocial behaviour in order to tackle the problem in North Baddesley.

"It has got a lot worse over the past few months," said Cllr Dowden, who is also county councillor for the Baddesley ward.

"We have come to the end of our tether," he said.

"We've not long had these bus shelters put in and they go and vandalise them.

"They've also been causing damage to local vehicles and have even started knocking down walls," he added.

"It's all very well having incident numbers when people report crime so that they can label a particular area a 'hot spot', but we need to have a proactive measure to stop it from happening.

"Not just reactive procedures when the vandalism has been carried out."

Showing the Daily Echo some of the known troublespots, Cllr Dowden outlined the large number of alcoholic drinks containers dumped outside a children's pre-school and nursery, and he spoke to residents in Rownhams Road who had their garden walls kicked down.

"This, along with the damage to the bus shelter has all happened in the past week," he said.

Knocked down

Retired electrical engineer Arnold W Toas, 75, had his wall knocked down by yobs and said that police should have more of a presence in North Baddesley.

"I haven't seen a policeman around for years. I wouldn't even recognise what they look like," he said.

Urging local residents to report every incident to the police, Cllr Dowden said neighbourhood wardens used to patrol the streets of North Baddesley but they were moved to Nursling where they also suffered a rise in antisocial behaviour.

"What we need is some plain clothed police officers to come out at night and deal with the problem," he added.

"I'm worried it will get to the stage where people start taking the law into their own hands to stop them."

A spokesman for Hampshire Police confirmed there had been a number of incidents in North Baddesley including a series of five properties damaged in Rownhams Road.

"We urge residents to report all incidents to us to help us deal with the crime more effectively," he said.

These will then be considered for some of the 96 new Police Community Support Officers which have been assigned to police in Test Valley, Eastleigh and the New Forest, over the next three years and are expected to have a presence in the area from September.