POLICE in Stourbridge have been granted powers to tackle yobs by dispersing gangs if trouble seems to be brewing.
Officers in the town centre, and also in Wollescote in the area around Hob Green Road and Gauden Road, will be able to break up groups of people if they believe anti-social behaviour is likely after dispersal orders came into force on Friday October 1.
Neighbourhood cops say the orders are a direct response to residents’ complaints about drinking, swearing, people running into the road and vandalism at Hob Green School.
The orders are effective for six months, which police say will be helpful during dark winter nights which traditionally show a rise in crime.
The order in Stourbridge covers the area of the town centre bordered by High Street, New Road and Bath Road.
The area includes the notorious Bell Street multi-storey car park which has become a popular spot for hooligans, with complaints ranging from speeding boy racers to objects being thrown from the upper levels.
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