ESCALATING youth nuisance in Royston has led fed up councillors to write to parents and warn them to rein in their kids.

Couns Graham Kyte, Tim Cheetham and Bill Newman sent letters out via the high school in an effort to stamp out underage drinking and misbehaviour, mainly around the park entrance and on Winter Avenue.

If bad behaviour persists, offenders and their families may be taken to court, be given a fine or an anti social behaviour order.

The letter states: "The community is no longer prepared to pay tens of thousands of pounds every year cleaning up graffiti, broken glass, empty cans and worse. They are no longer willing to pay for more and more of police time to be spent doing the job that parents and carers should be doing."

Councillors are unimpressed with claims that the youngsters have nothing else to do and believe it is no excuse for vandalism and abuse.

The problem was made public at an area forum last month where Coun Cheetham vowed to write to every parent and child in the high school to make it clear that anti social behaviour will not be tolerated.

PC Nash Sharrif, of Royston police station, said alcohol had been confiscated from a number of youths, who had been taken home to their parents.

Pc Sharrif fears some of the mums and dads concerned did not take the incident seriously.

The councillors are now working with shop owners to stop alcohol being sold to underage people and to prosecute anyone who supplies it to them.

According to the letter, a minority of school age children are causing the problems and police know many of their names.