10 children get police warnings in anti-social crackdown at Bedford's Avon Drive shops

In particular, the parade of shops on Avon Drive – and in the space of a few weeks, have issued 10 acceptable behaviour contracts.

They aren’t exactly like the now defunct ASBOs which were legally-binding court orders – more like an informal, voluntary agreements.

A police spokesman said: “The initial reports were for youth-related anti-social behaviour and these contracts are only issued to those under 16, which have terms they are all made aware of.

“The contracts have been issued over the last few weeks and the team is continuing to investigate all reports of anti-social behaviour reported in that particular area.”

And in a post on social media, officers from Bedford Community Policing Team added: “Please know that we will not tolerate anti-social behaviour in any form in our communities and when identified, we will always be proactive to put a stop to it.”