HUNDREDS of children on a Canvey estate have been sent packing by a police crackdown on antisocial behaviour.

Since a dispersal order was introduced for the Winter Gardens estate on November 19, police have given formal notices to 300 youngsters, ordering them not to hang around there. A further 15 youths have been arrested.

The order will be reviewed on February 19 and could be extended for a further three months, if needed.

The hope is a further three months will be enough to solve the problems caused by teenagers throwing fireworks, kicking down fences, and shouting and swearing in the streets.

The clampdown was prompted by gangs of as many as 30 youths gathering on the estate to cause trouble.

The order allows police to stop groups of two or more children and tell them to leave the area.

If they refuse, or ignore the instruction, they can be arrested and brought before the courts where a fine and a referral order to the youth offending agencies is likely.

PCs Christian Howell and Rob Bentley, Canvey-based officers who regularly patrol the area, are very familiar with about 20 known troublemakers in the area.

“It goes in spates,” said PC Howell. “You might get a day with two calls and then they go on a rampage and you get a dozen in one evening.

“It’s not unusual to have nine-year-olds out at midnight. We take them home and their parents just say ‘I told him to be in earlier. Never mind.’ They don’t seem to care.”

The focus of many of the problems has been Third Avenue, and the Freshways store in particular.

PC Bentley said: “The first two weeks, we had the order in place, we had more calls because the kids play up. They test your resilience.

“Now it’s definitely having an effect. We’ve had significantly fewer calls from members of the public.”

However, a knock-on effect is the groups keep been shifting around and are now regularly spotted hanging around the town centre.

Freshways supervisor Jane Lynes agreed the order was working when the police were actually on the estate. But, she added, the kids tended to return once the officers had gone.

She said: “We’ve got the police mobile number and if they are in the area, they will get here as soon as possible. It’s a lot better than it was. We’re just hoping the order can carry on for longer.”

On Friday night, when the Echo accompanies police on patrol, the officers spot a group of 21 teenagers gathered outside the KFC takeaway in the town centre at about 8pm.

A bottle rolls out into the street. The police make them pick it up, then confiscate and pour away a two-litre bottle of cider.

PC Bentley said: “The last few Fridays I’ve worked, they have been convening in the town centre, mainly, though I’ve seen some of our dispersal kids at the top of the seafront.

“But although they are moving on to other areas, we’ve not actually had an increase in crime in those areas.”

The KFC has become a favourite target for troublemakers. Teenagers will stroll in, empty the straw dispenser and throw sauces at staff. A few weeks ago, they set bin bags alight and threw them in the kitchen behind the restaurant.

When the Echo approached a group of youngsters and asked about the problems, one 15-year-old boy outside the takeaway snarled: “So we’re not allowed to hang around KFC and we’re not allowed to hang around Freshways now?"

I ask him why he is hanging around these areas at all. He smirks and sidles off up the street.

PC Howell said police were taking further steps against the yobs, including the installation of CCTV cameras.

He explained: “We’ve recently had a number of local residents agree to have cameras installed on their houses to covertly monitor what’s going on at locations throughout the dispersal order zone, where we’ve had problems. The aim is to identify who’s responsible.”

The order is in force day and night, but PC Bentley insists police are at pains to make sure law-abiding youngsters don’t get caught up by mistake.

He said: “If it’s a group of three or four lads going to football training, we’re not going to tell them off. We have to believe they are likely to cause antisocial behaviour before we will go after them.”

Feedback from residents on the estate has been good, says PC Howell.

He said: “They’re not seeing as many kids about.

“The problem hasn’t been solved, but it’s definitely getting better. I’d like to think in the six months we’ve had the order it will be cured. It just takes time.”