THE appalling behaviour of gangs of youths who congregate in the town's central car park, who, it is claimed, are terrifying Petersfield's elderly residents, is the focus of a meeting in the town today (Friday).

The meeting has been organised by Lesley Mitchell, sheltered scheme manager of Gloucester Court, a housing scheme for the elderly, part of which backs on to the central car park.

Representatives from the police, East Hampshire Housing Association and Hampshire Voluntary Housing Association's home for elderly, Burgesmede, which also borders the car park and which has suffered from the effects of vandalism, have all accepted an invitation to attend.

Also present to discuss what can be done to reduce the problems of late-night vandalism in the car park will be the manager of Rams Walk, Maggi Bennett, representatives from Petersfield traders including Waitrose, Boots, and Picketts and Pursers, and Petersfield town councillor Brian Dutton.

Incensed by the late-night problems which, says Mrs Mitchell, are caused by unruly youths "kicking in fences, throwing bottles at the bungalows, smashing up the toilets and creating a general nuisance," she said the time had come to do something about it.

"I have even had to clear up human faeces from the back garden of an elderly person," said Mrs Mitchell after a distressed resident had phoned and said a man had climbed over a wall into her garden.

"Elderly residents don't deserve that. Some are in their 90s," said a saddened Mrs Mitchell.

And she said there had been incidents where youths had been "shouting, playing loud music, emptying glass bottles from the bottle bank and throwing them in residents' gardens."

"It has got to the stage where elderly people are frightened to put their lights on during the evening – which presents its own dangers – because they are so scared."

She said that skateboarders who used the car park between seven and nine at night were "no trouble at all."

"It's the youths who come later and hang around until up to 3 am that we are fed up with.

"We are just getting nowhere," said Mrs Mitchell, who believed that good-quality closed-circuit TV could be the answer to the late-night problems

Although she said the police were aware of the problems, "it wouldn't matter if they got to the scene of an incident by rocket. The culprits would be gone by the time they arrived."

"Something has got to be done," she declared.

Newly-elected town councillor Brian Dutton, whose town council responsibilities include the town centre, said he would definitely be attending the meeting.

"I come from a poor background and never behaved they way these youths do," he said.

"I can't believe they want to terrify the elderly in our town -– they are a disgrace."

Mr Dutton said he wanted to see CCTV installed in the town, although he appreciated that there was no money for it this year.

But he told The Herald that he believed it could have already been installed "if the huge amount of money hadn't been wasted on the East Hampshire Sustainability Centre."