A dispersal order has been put in place in Shirley after reports of anti-social behaviour last night - with 10 people asked to leave the area last night.

The Section 34 dispersal order was authorised last night (Monday 28 April) on Shirley Road, centred on the 500m radius surrounding the McDonald's restaurant.

It was put in place as part of our ongoing work to deal with anti-social behaviour in the area, with reports of a group of young people last night behaving in an anti-social manner towards staff at the restaurant and refusing to leave when asked.

While conducting patrols in the area last night, officers dispersed 10 children aged between 13 and 16.

The order remains in place until 9am tomorrow morning (Wednesday 30 April) and gives us the power to order a person to leave the area that the order covers, with no return within the specified time period. Those who refuse to comply with the order are committing a criminal offence and are liable for arrest.

Inspector for the Shirley area Andy Proctor said: "By putting in place this dispersal order last night, we worked to quickly deal with reports of anti-social behaviour and prevent this from expanding to the wider area and having an even more significant impact.

"This kind of behaviour has a considerable impact on residents and the local businesses and their staff, and is something we are committed to tackling using the powers available to us.

"Our officers are out conducting patrols, so please do speak to us if you have any concerns or information which may assist us in dealing with this behaviour.

"It is also really important you keep reporting any issues to us, either via our website or calling 101, as this allows us to build a comprehensive picture of what is happening and enables us to target the appropriate response to this."