ESSEX Police has highlighted progress it has made in the battle against anti-social behaviour in the borough.

Information from the force says anti-social behaviour has fallen by 22% in Thurrock in the last 12 months with 498 fewer offences recorded in the year to the end of February.

The district has one of 13 hotspot patrolling zones in Essex to receive part of a £1.1m investment by the Essex's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner under Operation Dial.

Across Essex, ASB dropped by 31.6% in a year, with offences down by more than 7,000.

The funding is provided by central government as part of their Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy and is designed to deliver high visibility patrols, public engagement, targeted youth outreach and early intervention.

The Lakeside and Chafford Hundred hotspot zone has seen officers working alongside Thurrock Council's community safety team to complete more than 2,000 hours of patrols and eight nights of action to combat issues ranging from nuisance behaviour from teenagers through to misuse of vehicles in the centre's car parks.

A statement from the police says: "Lakeside's shopping and leisure facilities attract more than 20 million visitors a year, but with this comes with the risk that a tiny minority of individuals will come with the intention of committing offences or misbehaving.

"The hotspot patrols have led to eight arrests and 41 fixed penalty notices being issued. Officers have also given 50 informal warnings and conducted 32 stop searches.

"The team at Lakeside also work closely with the British Transport Police to identify and apprehend troublemakers."

Officers at Chafford Hundred.

Sergeant Lyndsey Chapman of Lakeside Community Policing Team said: "Tackling anti-social behaviour is a priority for us. We have a permanent team at the centre and we work very closely with Lakeside security to deal with any issues before they escalate.

"The centre are really robust at issuing banning orders and enforcing the bans. Eight people have been banned this month alone.

"Lakeside is a venue where people want to relax and enjoy themselves. The transport links make it easy to get to and the range of attractions make it popular with teenagers, but we know people can find groups of young people intimidating.

"Recently, we've dealt with youngsters coming in on bikes and riding aggressively, and two juvenile boys who've been abusive to staff and been knocking products off shelves in shops. One of the boys was issued a community resolution and both have been banned for a year.

"By having a uniformed presence on patrol, it creates a deterrent and reassures the public. Coming here to cause trouble is completely unacceptable and if anyone witnesses anti-social behaviour, we want them to tell our officers or alert the centre's security team."