Police officers are being forced to travel on public bus services in a bid to crackdown on anti-social behaviour problems amongst young people. Officers have been riding on the last Tenby to Kilgetty bus on a Friday night after complaints about the behaviour of youths travelling home after a night out in the town. "Tenby has always been the meeting place for youths on a Friday night, but at the moment there are around 100 gathering at various locations around the town and on the beaches which is causing problems," PCSO Idwal David told the Observer this week. The meeting places include The Jubilee, a children's play area, Castle and South Beaches, Castle Hill, the gardens above the harbour and the gardens along The Esplanade. "Local people and holidaymakers are feeling intimidated and are not going out on a Friday night because of these groups, many of whom are drinking alcohol, which has other consequences as the majority are underage," PCSO David explained. Added problems include the litter that is left behind which stops people using the children's play area and the gardens and the noise generated by such large groups. The officer continued: "The youths come into Tenby at various times, but they all seem to wait for the last bus at 10.15 pm to travel home. By this time, they have consumed alcohol and they are very noisy and boisterous which intimidates other passengers both on the bus and at the bus stop in Upper Park Road. "We have also had incidents of criminal damage being caused on the buses, but the bus that is used on that run has video facilities, so all the activities are on tape. "The behaviour is unacceptable and we have been taking steps to educate the youths. We have been speaking to them, confiscating alcohol found, taking names and visiting parents and their school." Officers have travelled on the buses for the last four Fridays, but they say they cannot carry on doing this. Talks are underway with Silcox, who operate the service, and officers are hoping to talk informally to the youths through the school, highlighting the problems of underage drinking. "Alcohol is being sold to under 18s in Tenby by adults, who if caught could face serious consequences, while all off-licence outlets and pubs should be vigilant with regard to these problems," added PCSO David. "We would remind all of our licensees to ask for ID and if it is not produced, then not to sell the alcohol. "We do not want to get heavy-handed, but want to educate them about these issues and work together with Silcox, the school, parents and the youths themselves. This behaviour is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to carry on," he added. When contacted by the Observer, Jason Silcox, of Silcox Coaches, said: "We've been working with the police to try and solve the problems, but the next stage unfortunately will be to totally ban the culprits from the bus. "That would be a shame, as it would affect perhaps the ones that were genuinely travelling back from Tenby on the last bus home after watching a film or something and not causing trouble around the town, but it would be impossible for our drivers to pick out the bad eggs from the good ones, so a total ban from the late bus would have to be enforced. "We have CCTV on the bus, so I know that the footage has been viewed by the police authorities to identify some of the troublemakers, but unfortunately a word with their parents doesn't seem to have put a stop to the problem. "Their behaviour is not good for the town in general and hopefully an end will be put to the anti-social behaviour before something really bad happens."
