A MASSIVE crackdown on anti-social behaviour in Wisbech will be extended for six months. It has given police extra powers and has seen a 14 per cent reduction of overall crime in the town. Police have used survey results to show that residents feel much s

A MASSIVE crackdown on anti-social behaviour in Wisbech will be extended for six months.

It has given police extra powers and has seen a 14 per cent reduction of overall crime in the town.

Police have used survey results to show that residents feel much safer with the orders in effect.

Sgt David Bax said research showed that before the orders came into force, 66 per cent of residents questioned felt unsafe going out at night and 49 per cent felt unsafe in the daytime.

Since the orders were introduced 73 per cent questioned now feel safe at night and 86 per cent feel safe during the day.

In terms of the areas covered, the orders are the biggest in Cambridgeshire and among the biggest in the country.

The extension will come into force from midnight tonight and enable police to:

- Split up groups if they believe their presence or behaviour has resulted or is likely to result in people being harassed, intimidated, alarmed or distressed

- Make people leave an area if they do not live in it

Graeme Carson, environmental protection manager for Fenland District Council, said: "We sent out questionnaires out to see if town residents and business people felt the dispersal orders have been a success. More than 100 came back and the response was a resounding 'yes.'

"More crimes are reported because most people now have more faith in the police and the results are clear."

Sgt Bax said: "There can be no doubt that dispersal orders have been extremely successful. The orders are a short-term measure and we are not being complacent but it is reassuring that so many people now feel safer."

The boundaries covered by the orders run from the roundabout at Freedom Bridge to the north, Churchill Road, to the east, South Brink/ Cromwell Road to the west and St Peter's Park, to the south.

The boundary has been extended to include Mill Close.