CAMPAIGNING residents have demanded action to stop their lives being blighted by drunken youths.

People living near Cluny Square and Southchurch Hall have appealed to Southend Council to stop teenagers they say have turned their streets into a no-go zone.

Residents claim they are no longer able to take their children to the park in the centre of Cluny Square, or Southchurch Hall’s gardens, because of the intimidating atmosphere created by groups of rowdy youths.

Tania Mildren, 30, who has lived near Cluny Square all her life, has a son, Brandon, seven.

“I would never take him to the park,” she said. “It should be a place open to everyone, but the way it is you just cannot take your children there. It is full of broken bottles, beers cans and drunks.”

Brian Ayling, acting chairman of St Luke’s Residents’ Assoc-iation, which covers Cluny Square, added: “It is disgraceful.

“You often see people drinking there in groups, and it puts off anyone else who might want to use the park.”

To combat the problems, council officers have proposed monitoring both parks for a year, alongside police.

If the evidence points towards a significant problem, councillors could introduce designated public place orders.

The move would give police the power to confiscate alcohol being drunk or carried in the parks, and arrest anyone who refuses to hand over their drinks.

The orders have already been implemented in Southend High Street, the seafront, Hamlet Court Road and the Four Rivers Estate, in Shoebury, to deal with similar problems.

However, the process will first have to be rubber-stamped by the council’s Tory leadership, at its meeting today.

Paul Van Looy, an independent councillor for St Luke’s, said he hoped the council approved the plans.

“I think it is a sensible and necessary move,” he said.

“I’ve got nothing against people drinking and having a good time.

“But a public place should be something which can be enjoyed by everyone.”