PENKETH residents made policing Honiton Square the number one priority at a public meeting.

They voted nuisance youths as the biggest crime issue at the first Penketh Community Action Meeting (CAM).

The meeting was organised by the police and the officers of Sankey Station will focus on the square until the next meeting in eight weeks.

The co-owner of a business in Honiton Way told the meeting that youth disorder had cut her business by half in the past six months.

The woman went on to describe a violent incident involving staff and the family of a youth that cannot be fully reported due to ongoing criminal proceedings.

Forty five residents and councillors attended the CAM meeting, which was held at Penketh High School.

The Home Office has introduced them as a way for people to meet their local police and come up with solutions to crime-related concerns.

Insp Brian Heywood, who commands the 11 officers based at Sankey Station, said: "This process rewards people who care about where they live."

People had mixed views on current policing.

A woman said no-one came when she reported that children were on the roof of Penketh High School, while another woman, Elizabeth Carroll, said she had had a 'tremendous response' to calls about Meeting Lane Leisure Centre.

Parish Clr Eileen Dempsey also pointed out the role ordinary people have to play and said: "I think the parents of youths need to get off their backsides and volunteer to help."

l MARINA Park was fixed as the police priority for Great Sankey South during a CAM at Great Sankey Library.