A RESIDENTIAL Keighley street and one of the busiest parts of the town centre were revealed as being among Bradford district’s hotspots for antisocial behaviour.

The most recent statistics from the Police UK website, for February, show eight such crimes on or near Shann Avenue and five antisocial behaviour related offences for Towngate, which is between Keighley Bus Station and the Airedale Shopping Centre.

Shann Avenue was second on the list of locations in Bradford district for the highest number of reported antisocial behaviour incidents during February.

Keighley Central ward councillor Zafar Ali said he was surprised at the number of cases in Shann Avenue, adding that this was not an area he would normally associate with this type of crime.

He said the figure for Towngate was less of a shock, as this is such a heavily used part of the town centre.

Cllr Ali said: “Antisocial behaviour is a national, not just a local problem and I’m not aware of any major increase in this in Keighley recently.

“It happens in every town and city, and I don’t think Keighley does too badly when compared to some other places in the country.

“But I understand it is still a concern for people, and I know the police have been taking the initiative in connection with what’s been happening in the town centre.

“But it needs to be a multi-agency approach because there’s more than one issue involved with antisocial behaviour. These include unemployment, poverty, drug addiction and drinking alcohol in the streets.

“Particularly when it comes to the drinking in the town centre, if you move the people who are doing it away from one location, they’ll just drink at another spot instead.

“To stop it escalating you need very active neighbourhood policing and some kind of long-term solution.”

Cllr Khadim Hussain, also of Keighley Central, said: “Antisocial behaviour isn’t unique to Keighley, but that’s no consolation to people here.

“The police are aware of it, and as a society we have a responsibility to collectively tackle it. We have to confront the problem head-on, I’m a big believer in that.

“Schools and parents play a key role because we need to instil in children from a very young age how to behave responsibly. Though of course it isn’t always young people committing antisocial behaviour, it can be older people too.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said on Saturday (April 21) that officers had been made aware of a rise in antisocial behaviour at Keighley Retail Park, in Hard Ings Road, especially at weekends.

He added: “As a result PCSO Hussain has been patrolling the area and issued three section 59 warnings to vehicles and drivers as part of the Police Reform Act 2002.

“If the vehicle or the driver come to police attention in similar circumstances in the next 12 months their vehicle will be seized, with a considerable cost to get it released.”