CRACKDOWN ON DRUGS PLEDGE

Police are to tackle drug dealing in part of Kettering after
residents threatened to carry out their own patrols.

People living in and around Arthur's Way, off Alexandra Street, said
they would start policing the streets themselves because they are so
frustrated about the problems in the area.

One resident said he was fed up with the constant break-ins,
vandalism and drug-dealing in Arthur's Way, Alfred Street and Stuart's Close.

Now the Kettering North Central Safer Community Team has pledged to
crack down on the problems and made it one of the priorities for the
coming months.

Acting Sgt Ben Howe said: "Drug-dealing in this area has been
identified by residents as a concern. We carried out an audit of the
area and plans are now in place to dedicate resources to the issue.

"We have money for extra officers and we will be working on this for
the next few months."

The resident, who did not wish to be named, said he wanted CCTV
cameras to be installed and more police in the area.

He said: "The problem has got worse in the past two years and people
are tiring of it. People are talking about policing the area themselves.

"All our cars have been smashed up and fittings are pulled down.
People have started moving out. It used to be a nice place to live.

"This behaviour has had an impact on everybody's lives and we have a
lot of elderly and vulnerable people living round here."

Sgt Howe said they would look into the possibility of installing CCTV cameras.