POLICE have appealed to people in Skipton to report incidents of anti-social behaviour being carried out by young teenagers in the town.

Officers say instead of posting incidents on social media, people should instead inform police and it will be dealt with.

It follows postings on social media channels of younger teenagers throwing things at people, including one incident where a man was nearly knocked off his motorbike in Skipton after a 'rock or brick' was thrown at him, hitting his helmet.

Sgt Paul Evans, of Craven Neighbourhood Policing team, said officers were aware of several incidents of low-level anti-social behaviour involving younger teenagers in and around Skipton in the last few weeks.

He said: "As always some of the information has come to our attention via social media channels rather than actual reports to the police.

"We understand that people often feel that the police are uninterested or unable to tackle such issues, however Craven Neighbourhood Policing Team are here to look at emerging issues in Skipton and the rest of Craven with a view to developing plans to tackle them, working with our partner agencies and other stake holders such as local businesses, parish and town councils and residents."

He said the problem solving approach to community issues when properly carried out could be very effective, and had varying degrees of success.

But, in order for it to work, police needed residents to be their 'eyes and ears' and to report incidents affecting their communities.

"Could people please report any issues to us so that we can identify emerging issues quickly with a view to intervening at an early stage, where possible," said Sgt Evans.

"We are extremely lucky in Craven that the vast majority of young people do conduct themselves extremely well and do not get themselves into any trouble . However a small number do spoil it for the rest.

"We always look to try and divert young people away from offending, working closely with supporting agencies such as North Yorkshire Council and schools. To be effective this needs to occur at an early stage, and we find it does work well."

He added: "Following a staged approach all young people will be spoken to, if appropriate, in front of parents or guardians at the first sign of behaviour that may lead them down the wrong path. Hopefully this is enough to prevent their behaviour escalating further. If not, then we escalate our approach leading eventually to using powers under Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 if required."

Sgt Evans also reminded parents - especially over the summer holidays- to make sure they knew where their children are and what they are doing.

Incidents of low level anti-social behaviour should be reported to police either online https://orlo.uk/9Zc1x or by calling North Yorkshire Police on 101