ROWDY youths may be banned from parts of Malvern under a new initiative being launched by the town council.

The new exclusion notice will help tackle problems of anti-social behaviour in open spaces such as Victoria Park.

The council has been working closely with police and the Community Safety Partnership to produce the new order.

The notices will be used to formally ban people from named premises owned by the council for a fixed length of time.

They can be served on anyone whose behaviour causes "harassment, alarm or distress".

If someone who has been served an exclusion notice does enter forbidden territory, they can be evicted and even prosecuted.

Town clerk Richard Chapman said: "We're doing this because of anti-social behaviour, mainly in Victoria Park, although there have been complaints about Duke's Meadow as well."

Leading the scheme is Malvern Link beat manager PC Roger Pullin, who said: "A similar scheme was used last year to tackle problems in Priory Park, in association with the district council."

He said the exclusion notice scheme was part of a package of measures being used to tackle the problems in Victoria Park.

Visits to the area by police officers have been stepped up and the park has already been specially designated so officers can confiscate alcohol.

He has also visited all pubs and off-licences in the area, stressing the importance of not selling alcohol to minors.

People living near the park have long complained about rowdy behaviour there, particularly on nights during the summer.

In July, residents were outraged when two hedgehogs were kicked to death, prompting Malvern businessman Geoff Southall to offer a £100 reward.

PC Pullin is due to meet members of the council's operations committee on Tuesday, September 21, to explain the scheme.