CONCERNS have been raised over youngsters using drugs and littering on the recreation ground in Tetbury at the town’s full council meeting this month.

Susan Fellows, Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for Tetbury, said that she is receiving reports of youngsters smoking cannabis near a youth shelter on the recreation ground.

And Barry Gibbs, chairman of the Dolphins Hall community centre which backs onto the recreation ground, says that littering around the shelter is so bad he wishes to take it away from youngsters.

PCSO Fellows, said she has been unable to catch offenders in possession of drugs as they normally run away or throw their drugs away when she approaches them.

She appealed for more help from residents at the meeting.

“We are doing the best we can but we do need more reports coming in,” she said.

“If I do not know it, how can I do anything about it. Please phone 101 and let me know about it.”

Barry Gibbs told councillors that he had placed stickers on the shelter warning youngsters that if they continued to litter the shelter, it would be taken away.

“It is getting to the stage where it is becoming untenable because of the amount of litter,”he said.

Several councillors disagreed and told Mr Gibbs that it was unfair to punish the youngsters.

Stephen Hirst said: “If this shelter was removed, they would play in other areas of the recreation ground - it would be like chasing mice around in a dark shelter.”