MALVERN needs a strategy for dealing with anti-social behaviour by children during the school holidays.

Speaking at this week's meeting of the Malvern Police/Community Consultative Group, its chairman Les Eaton said that as it was known only a few were responsible for the problems it should be possible to target them and "hit them hard".

Mr Eaton was responding to seven calls and letters he had received from people concerned about anti-social behaviour.

Among the issues raised at the meeting were the problem of children, said to be as young as eight, playing football in Sherrards Green Road after 11pm.

Mr Eaton read a letter from a couple whose greenhouse had been demolished by vandals, who wrote: "As we get older we are increasingly fearful, and particularly in the school holidays. We just want a peaceful retirement."

But Mr Eaton said he was disappointed that five of the people who had contacted him, had then failed to put their concerns in writing or come along to the meeting.

Jenny Larwence, of Malvern Hills District Council's Community Safety Partnership, said there was a strategy for dealing with anti-social behaviour and it was working.

In one area of Malvern where there had been 60 calls to the police during January, by working with the community, that number had been reduced to only two in April, she said.

Sergeant Robert Werner de Sondberg said people should keep crime in Malvern in perspective.

"Malvern has a small town mentality but this is not a small town," he said.

He said he feared talk of targeting young people would set generation against generation.