An urgent public meeting should be held to try and solve the escalating problems of youth delinquency in Basildon.

The call from councillors came at a meeting of the council's central Basildon area committee as the Evening Echo revealed that four teenagers have been given anti-social behaviour orders for causing chaos on an estate for three years.

Joe White (Lib Dem, Nethermayne), said a meeting involving the police and other relevant agencies was imperative.

He said: "A meeting or conference is needed to do something about this problem. It's a district-wide problem.

"Everyone keeps talking about this issue, but we need to stop talking about it and take some action."

A decision on when the conference should be held will be taken later after discussions with the police.

Published Thursday May 27, 2004

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