Police in South Craven have been given new powers to try to stop disorderly behaviour on the streets.

PC Andy Wooler, from Cross Hills Police Station, told Glusburn Parish Council about the introduction of Direction to Leave Notices.

PC Wooler said the notices could ban people who had been causing problems from a specific area for up to 48 hours.

Cross Hills Police Community Support Officer Jason Perkins said the notices allowed police to target problem areas and alcohol related crime, especially when violence was involved.

"If somebody is found drinking in the street we can issue a notice to disperse them from the area," he said.

Direction to Leave Notices were brought in under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 and North Yorkshire Police have just started using the new powers.

And youths drinking in Cross Hills and causing problems on a Friday night could be among the first to receive a notice.

PCSO Perkins said: "It would prohibit them from coming into the village for a specified period.

"However, people with a notice who need to pass through the village to get to school or work would be allowed to do so.

"They are to stop people hanging around on the streets and causing problems.

"The notices allow us to target the individuals who are causing problems, rather than taking a blanket approach and banning a whole group."

PCSO Perkins said there was not much need for the notices during the winter months because there was little under-age drinking or anti-social behaviour on the streets.

"We do have our moments though and the notices will definitely come in during the summer," he said.

Members of the parish council also heard that youths were getting false ID cards from the Internet and using them to buy alcohol from local shops.

"They are either using fake IDs or getting friends who are 18 to buy drink for them in shops and pubs," PC Wooler said.

Council chairman Roger Nicholson said that in these situations the onus was on licensees to look out for under-age drinkers.

"The pressure has got to be put on the people selling alcohol," he added.

PC Wooler agreed that licensees needed to be on the lookout for false IDs. "We are seizing them and we will keep doing so," he said.