Demands for more bobbies on the beat and a crackdown on rowdy behaviour by youths topped the concerns of residents at a community action meeting last night.

Residents of the Hangleton and Knoll area of Hove sat down with police officers and a representative of Brighton and Hove City Council's housing department to work out ways of improving the area.

Hangleton and Knoll Community Action is looking at ways of bringing the community together to improve the quality of life in the area.

Residents said they wanted a more visible police presence.

There were also calls for more CCTV cameras and a suggestion that police officers should be encouraged to live in the area to give residents greater security.

Some residents said the problem of antisocial behaviour by youths in the area should be dealt with by police keeping a closer watch on pubs.

There was criticism of the way the council allocated housing, sometime mixing young people with pensioners which led to resentment between the age groups.

Senior housing officer Wendy Iverlee said the council tried wherever possible to put people of a similar age together but it was not possible in all cases as the council had to meet its financial and housing targets.

Inspector Mark Powles, responsible for community policing in Hangleton, said: "We are aware youth disorder is a great problem in this part of Hove and we will tackle this.

"If necessary we will use antisocial orders to deal with persistent offenders.

"We are aware youth disorder in this part of the city is a great problem."