AN ALLOTMENT watch scheme has been launched in an effort to deter teenagers from committing antisocial behaviour.

Police plan to roll the scheme out across Castle Point to help protect people's plots from criminal damage.

The first group to sign up was the Hadleigh Allotment Society which has had problems with vandalism in the past.

This is the latest of a number of steps taken to better protect the site. New fencing and gates, funded by Castle Point Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) have already been installed and police patrols in the area increased.

Signs have been fixed to the entrances to the site, identifying it as being a member of Allotment Watch and liaison meetings between the society and the police introduced.