WORK is ongoing to tackle rising levels of antisocial behaviour in a street, with one man banned from the city centre.

Durham Police are working alongside residents, businesses and Durham County Council to tackle the problem in North Road, in Durham, and other parts of the city centre following a rise in complaints about anti-social behaviour and persistent begging.

Since the project started in October, a civil injunction has been secured against one man to prohibit him from being in the city centre and a number of other criminal behaviour orders are also being prepared to tackle individuals.

Neighbourhood inspector Mark Edwards: “In terms of the city centre, the knock on effect of that has been for the bus station and security of other businesses have noticed an improvement.”

He added: “We’re getting more officers out there and getting into the bus station. It’s still a daily focus for us. It has improved but there are still problems.

“We’ll be going out in the new year to do a survey and see what people think, which is what we did when we started it.

“Hopefully we will have a better idea of what progress has been made in January.”

Ian Hoult, the council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “We have seen a significant reduction in incidents of anti-social behaviour in the North Road area since the launch of a multiagency initiative at the beginning of October.

“Working with our partners, we have taken a number of measures, including securing an injunction with the power of arrest against one individual who was causing a persistent problem.

“We have also increased patrols in the area and are offering help and advice to anyone we believe to be vulnerable and in need of support.”

The police and council are still in discussion about the introduction of a public space protection order (PSPO), a new power that can be used to tackle antisocial behaviour by trying to prevent things like begging and sitting in doorways.