RESIDENTS in a Chard street plagued with anti-social behaviour have called for more CCTV to be utilised in the town, rather than be second fiddle to Yeovil.

Miserable home owners in Hope Terrace and Combe Street say they have had to put up with house parties gone wrong, damaged vehicles, noise, litter and abusive behaviour, requiring constant visits from the police.

Chard’s neighbourhood beat team say they are working to support the residents, but cam - eras and equipment are funnelled to more problematic areas in Yeovil.

A number of neighbours, who said they would like to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, described to the News what they have endured over the past 18 months.

One resident said: “I am scared to go out at certain times and I lock all of my internal doors at night for fear of someone smash - ing my window and getting in because I can hear them all out there. The other night they were kicking footballs against cars and a couple of neighbours came out to ask them to stop. Streams of youngsters filed out of a house – it became a confrontation, the police were called again – they were like bees coming out of the hive.”

Neighbourhood beat sergeant Rob Jameson told the News his officers were working with resi - dents to try to resolve the situation.

“The youths have been visiting a property on the terrace and gathering in the street and us - ing it as a hangout, causing a lot of stress to the neighbours,” he said.

“The residents don’t want it and we want to help them with the situation. The neighbourhood teams have access to overt CCTV units which are fixed to lampposts in areas of high anti-social behaviour and act as a visible deterrent.

“Unfortunately, the district has a very limited number of them and currently most of the cam - eras are being used in Yeovil.

“We have already got a meeting with the landlord to remind him of his responsibility.”