Acceptable behaviour contracts are being introduced in the Braintree and Witham area as a new way of dealing with neighbours from hell.

Individuals will be asked to sign a six month contract with the district council and police as a way of curbing nuisance in the community.

The contracts will be used on council or private housing estates and streets to deal with a wide range of issues including rowdy children, loud music or the unreasonable repairing or spraying of vehicles in the road.

Council officers and police are regarding the contracts as a way of talking over the issues and stopping unacceptable behaviour before it gets totally out of control.

Braintree council's assistant area housing manager Richard Scott said: "We have been working very closely with Essex Police to try to deal with problems as and when they arise.

"These contracts are an agreement between the police and the local authority and the person causing the nuisance to resolve the problem.

"We will ask local people who are being subjected to what they perceive as unacceptable behaviour to keep a diary of what is going on."

The scheme has already been tried successfully in the London Borough of Islington with a 95 per cent success rate in tackling anti-social behaviour.

Other areas of Essex - Basildon and Thurrock- have also launched the contracts (ABCs).

Braintree Police Inspector Moira Owers said: "It's an entirely voluntary agreement and is just one tool we can use to tackle anti-social behaviour."

Breaches will be investigated and if necessary the council-police partnership would take action under the tenancy agreements or possibly through an anti-social behaviour order.

Published Thursday November 14, 2002

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