A TERRIFIED community has brought an 825-name petition before Chester City Council calling for an end to the violence and intimidation in their neighbourhood.

The petition, which relates to youth nuisance in Hoole, calls for the installation of CCTV cameras, proper policing of the area and a dedicated community police officer.

The demands will be considered by the city council, following last night's presentation of the petition before the city council cabinet meeting by Hoole Councillor Jean Nuttall (Hoole All Saints).

'We have had enough of talking - we need to get tough on people who are breaking the law,' she said. 'We have had shop windows broken, street signs uprooted, telephone boxes vandalised on a regular basis and residents frightened to go out during the day and night.

'It is hard to take in what Hoole is becoming. When the police come across a problem, the problem just moves on to another place and starts all over again. There must be some action to stop this.'

She said she represented residents too scared to come out into the open.

'People are frightened. I know how desperate shopkeepers are at this time - one shop is adamant they are not going to replace their window because it has been broken twice already.'

She continued: 'I would like to think the city council will take action on the items we asked for, to make available the CCTV cameras in Hoole as they do in the city centre. They should put it in the budget.'

Cllr Nuttall concedes that two of the petition's demands are underway - PC Judy Powell is Hoole's dedicated community action team (CAT) officer, and youth nuisance operation Appease has been running for some time - but she says police are not making their efforts clear to residents.

'I know police take addresses but we need prosecutions. The police are doing their job but are not feeding their work back to the residents, which is a shame, really, because they are unaware of the work being done in their area. They are doing an excellent job but are going over old ground.'

City council leader David Evans received the petition yesterday.

He said: 'Clearly we recognise that youth nuisance is a serious problem in Hoole and a number of other areas in the city and we, as a council, are trying to work with other partners to try to find a solution.'

He said councillors were looking at extending the CCTV network beyond the city centre but had not taken any decisions on specific locations.

'We would have to take advice from police and community safety experts as to how effective such an installation might be, then evaluate the costs and scale of the problem,' he said.

'I think the police are addressing the problems but it's up to them to look at how effective they are being - it is not for me to tell them how to do their job.'

Outer Sector CATS team Sgt Alastair Hinze says police are well aware of the problems within Hoole.

He said: 'There is a designated local police officer, PC Judy Powell. She has been consulting with local traders, residents and the young people living in Hoole.'

He said police presence had been increased claimed there had been a decline in incidents.

'We have worked hard and achieved many of the aims that we have set out to do.

He added: 'CCTV can make a positive contribution to the policing of the area but this has to be decided by the local council. It could benefit a number of different areas.'