HOME Secretary Amber Rudd has called on the police to "come down very hard" an anti-social street drinkers.

The Hastings and Rye MP was speaking after new reports that the seaside resort she represents is being blighted by anti social behaviour from groups of adults.

Residents have been complaining about drunk or drugged people attacking them and acting anti-socially in Wellington Square over the past few weeks, describing them as "junkies".

Police say enforcement is not always the answer and Hastings Borough Council claims it had a good record on dealing with these issues.

But Ms Rudd says such drunken behaviour is simply not good enough..

She told The Argus: "I do not think this problem of street drinkers actually ever went away, sadly I think it has been with us for a long time now.

"I believe that we must have higher standards of expectations of how people behave, and these individuals must realise that they cannot behave like this.

"The police and borough council work closely on this matter in Hastings, and I am also obviously involved, and it is clear that the behaviour of these people is unacceptable.

"We must come down very hard on this so that we are raising the standards on our streets."

Erica Barrett, chairwoman of the Pilot Field Area Residents’ Association on The Ridge in Hastings, has criticised the decision by Sussex Police to remove police patrols from the Baird ward and now its PCSO.

She said she was told this was because it was deemed a low crime area and a local policeman for the area was no longer merited.

Ms Rudd is in charge of policing in her role as Home Secretary but she said such decisions were a matter for Sussex Police, not central government.

Regarding the anti-social behaviour in Hastings Town Centre, the borough council said it was a growing issue as cuts to social services bite.

The police say they are hard to provide an appropriate response to the problem.