TWO youth workers could be funded by Newport Parish Council in an attempt to combat a recent spike in anti-social behaviour.

The parish council say they hope to allocate around £800 to pay for the extra support after officers from Newport’s Neighbourhood Policing Team arrested more than nine youths last weekend.

It's hoped that in conjunction with Newport Youth Cafe two workers would be on duty for one night a week in the town centre, for a period of around 10 weeks.

The youth cafe was previously located in the centre of town and serviced around 45 youngsters, but since moving to Pan the organisation has seen its attendance drop to around 15 youths.

Councillor Julie Jones-Evans (Newport Central) has made the money available from this year's Newport Parish Council budget.

She said: "These aren't youth volunteers they are proper youth workers. This is not a new issue, what's new is the escalation of violence."

Cllr Jones-Evans also suggested members of the public might look into becoming volunteer police officers, or special constables.

She continued: "The police have suffered from the cuts just as much as councils have."

The councillor added that she recently met with an architect to see if the alcoves near the library at Church Litten could be transformed into less fostering areas for crime and anti-social behaviour.

Newport Parish Council meets on Monday, (January 14) at 6.45pm in the Riverside Centre to discuss its annual budget plans further, the meeting is open to the public.

The Police and Crime Commissioner’s survey is seeking views on how much residents of the Isle of Wight are willing to contribute towards the cost of policing locally. It is due to close at midnight on January 12, 2019.

You can have your say here: https://www.neighbourhoodalert.co.uk/da/251996