A MAJOR initiative has failed to rid a Gwent town centre of anti-social yobs, police and the local authority admitted.

Gangs are still gathering in Cwmbran town centre, residents and business people say.

But a tough dispersal order brought in six months ago to target disorderly groups of youths is still the way forward, according to police and council chiefs.

Torfaen council's community safety manager, Dave Jeremiah, said: "It's not a case of can 'we win the battle?' - it's a case of 'we have to', for the good of the community."

He said Torfaen council and Gwent Police were determined to beat the yobs and reclaim the streets for ordinary people after dark.

"If they go somewhere else we will follow them until we wear them down," he said.

He was speaking as a new youth dispersal order was launched, giving police continued powers to disperse groups of two or more people behaving in an anti-social manner in the town centre.

The first dispersal order was put in force last September.

During that time six arrests were made, resulting in four cautions and two convictions, leading to fines.

But one female resident of Caradoc Road, who did not want to be named, said: "I live alone, and do my shopping in the morning because I'm too frightened to go out once it starts to get dark.

"Teenagers gather outside the entrance to the flats, drinking and sniffing glue."

A caf owner we spoke to, who asked not to be named, said: "There's been no difference over the last six months - they still frighten people away from the centre at night.

"They just wait until the police have gone, and then come back."

Mr Jeremiah, who heads Torfaen's community safety partnership, made up of the police, council and health authority, said the dispersal order was "very successful" over the Christmas period, but added: "We would have hoped it would have sent a strong message that gatherings were not acceptable, but it is still happening."

He said all members of the public are entitled to feel safe when they visit the town centre.

The order gives police the power to move under-16s "to their home or a place of safety".

Notices warn of a maximum six-month prison sentence or £5,000 fine in default.

Cwmbran's crime and disorder officer, PC Darrell Dewar, said disorder had been "dramatically reduced", but admitted levels were still "unacceptable".

He said: "That's why we feel it's necessary to extend the order. It's fair to say quite a lot of youngsters are taking note and behaving."