THE son of a Blackwood town councillor has been hit with an anti-social behaviour order.

Magistrates in Blackwood imposed the ASBO on Matthew Davies, of Twyn Gardens, Cefn Forest, when he appeared in court yesterday.

The ASBO states that 16-year-old Davies must not commit any act within the Caerphilly county borough which is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to any other person, he must not threaten or swear at any resident or passers-by and must not cause damage to property belonging to others.

Davies' father, Delwyn, is a well-known and much respected local councillor and former mayor of the town.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Davies told the Argus he was confident that his son would stick to the terms of the ASBO.

He said: "Matthew had admitted that at times he has been in the wrong, but he was not the only one involved.

"And I don't see the other kids up in front of a court. "I'm sure Matthew is going to stick to the order. He's not a bad kid. He has changed the people he hangs around with, he's changed his whole way of life."

The 16-year-old was accused of a catalogue of nuisance incidents dating from February to October 2003.

They included hurling abuse at people, throwing stones, swearing, name calling, assaults and ordering takeaway food to be delivered to a complainant's address.

However, the court found that Caerphilly county borough council, who brought the action against Davies, could not prove a number of the allegations, including that of assault and ordering takeaway food. Nevertheless, Davies will now be subject to the ASBO for a period of two years.

Delwyn Davies said ASBOs could be a very good thing but that he believed the council had not used their powers correctly in this instance. He said: "They didn't even look into using a behaviour contract, or something similar. That could have worked just as well and would have saved all of this."