ANGRY residents of a York estate will tonight present all the city's councillors with a petition calling for a stop to antisocial behaviour on their doorsteps.

A number of people living in Kingsway West and Newbury Avenue, Acomb, claim the behaviour of a group of youths and children is blighting their lives. They say the group causes problems by congregating on a patch of grass outside a block of flats in Kingsway West, where they swear at residents and throw stones at windows.

The residents also claim the group jumps up and down on hedges at the corner of Newbury Avenue, badly damaging them.

Twenty-three residents have signed the petition, which will be handed to the full City of York Council meeting, at the Guildhall, from 6.30pm tonight.

Meanwhile, civic leaders have voted to work with police to clamp down on nuisance youths in Norton.

Residents living near Kingston Drive have complained to police, North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and the town council about problems caused by youths deliberately damaging the fence that backs on to their gardens, said Norton's mayor, Keith Mennell.

Coun Mennell told members at a town council meeting last night that something had to be done.

"I think really it's deplorable what's happening down there," he said.

"The people have lost quite a lot of their privacy because youths are using the area not really to play ball games but as a place to congregate."

High fencing could be an option, he said, instead of the broken wooden panels and fencing currently in place.

The fencing has been damaged twice in recent weeks and Coun Mennell said he knew one resident would have to put an insurance claim in to get the damage fixed.

He suggested Inspector Neil Burnett be invited to the recreation area adjoining the houses to see the situation for himself.

Updated: 10:47 Tuesday, April 15, 2003