ON a bitterly cold December night on Canvey, councillor Neville Watson and I are investigating the effects of new police dispersal powers to curb antisocial behaviour on the island.

We are walking down Link Road, the main artery of the Winter Gardens area, and a particular trouble hotspot.

The dispersal powers, which allow police to move on large groups of youths and escort those under the age of 16 home, have been in place in Winter Gardens for two weeks.

The decision was made following pressure from residents and more than 60 antisocial behaviour offences during a two-week period in October.

First on our list of visits is Anita Willoughby, a 23-year-old mum who contacted Mr Watson after youngsters tried to burn down her front door two nights ago.

As we arrive at Anita’s front door, the signs of the blaze are obvious.

The area around the letterbox is charred and inside there are holes in the carpet.

Worse still, Anita’s ten-month-old baby, Leland, was inside the first-floor flat when the door was set alight.

Anita says: “I’m terrified, not for myself, but for Leland. If something happened to him I would never forgive them.”

Anita said police had advised her it is not safe for Leland to stay at her flat, so he is with his grandparents.

Anita says: “I know it’s the safest place for him to be, but it is killing me inside not to have him here in the morning when I wake up.”

Meanwhile, Essex Fire and Rescue Service has issued Anita with a £500 sheet of plastic, coated with Teflon, to protect her door against future arson.

But Anita says it is not enough to reassure her. She says: “The police and fire service have told me I am not safe here, so maybe it’s time to move on.”

But Anita is no coward. She believes it was her bravery which led to the attack.

She says she asked a group of youngsters to be quiet just an hour before her door was torched.

Shockingly, she describes the kids as being aged between six and ten. Neville tells Anita, and a number of concerned residents who have gathered in her flat, the safest thing is not to provoke the children. The head of the local Neighbourhood Watch group tells me he has put bars over his windows and barbed wire on his garden fence to stop the vandalism.

He refuses to give me his name in case he is singled out.

He says: “If they see my name in the paper, I’ve had it. They’ll throw bricks through my window.”

Like Anita, he describes the yobs as being no older than ten.

As Neville and I walk back up Link Road, I ask him if the dispersal powers are all a big game to the youngters, do they just turn the area into a giant game of cops and robbers?

Neville, a Canvey Independent councillor, agrees some children are just bored, but says it is important the police crack down on the ringleaders.

Neville also explains that positive action is also important.

He says the council has spent £250,000 improving the area in the last two years.

He adds: “We have to show youngsters we are proud of the area. Every time grafitti goes up I want to see it removed as soon as possible. They’ve got to know we won’t stand for it.”