Tackling antisocial behaviour means sorting out dangerous parking too!

Antisocial behaviour - in law - is 'behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as the person'.

Examples include:
• Nuisance, rowdy or inconsiderate neighbours

• Vandalism, graffiti and fly-posting

• Street drinking

• Littering, dumping of rubbish and abandonment of cars

• Inconsiderate or inappropriate use of vehicles

We usually talk about the first four, and attention is focused, perhaps unfairly, on groups of younger people. Noise in public spaces, graffiti or damage to our parks is often blamed on them. There are places in Sevenoaks where these problems happen, and are very worrying for local residents. Action by police and council officials usually follows, although not always fast enough.

We're lucky that not many local young people get involved in antisocial behaviou

r. Outsiders provoke some of the problems, and often they are associated with drink or drugs

Our Town Council aims to provide safe spaces for activity for young people, and to draw them in from all parts of our community. There's no doubt that it helps, together with actvities by schools and by clubs of all kinds. We are lucky to have so many volunteers to make them a success, but recently they've been working against a background of reduced public funding for services.

There's adult antisocial behaviour too. The Chronicle photographed a Porsche earlier this year, parked across the High Street pavement. It forced mums with buggies and people with sight problems and guide dogs, to walk in the road with the traffic. It certainly caused alarm and distress.

Antisocial parking like this happens every day around our town. It sets a terrible example, it endangers lives. Kent police and Sevenoaks council say they can do nothing! Why?

Pam Walshe is Town Councillor for Sevenoaks Eastern