POLICE in a Gwent town will not renew an order allowing them to disperse anti-social groups from the town centre after the number of complaints halved.

Cwmbran police first applied for the dispersal order in September 2004 after growing levels of anti-social behaviour, and chose to renew the order earlier this year following a lack of initial results.

But a 50 per cent drop in the number of reported incidents means police will not now apply for an extension as levels of anti-social behaviour are not considered to be of great concern.

Under the order, which ran out at the end of August, police had the power to banish groups of two or more people from the town centre for 24 hours if they were behaving anti-socially.

They were also able to take youngsters under the age of 16 home or to a place of safety if they were behaving anti-socially in the town centre.

In addition to the order police have used a range of powers to crackdown on anti-social behaviour.

Officers have carried out regular anti-social behaviour patrols in and around Cwmbran town centre, targeting anti-social hotspots and underage drinkers.

Crime and disorder reduction officer PC Darrell Dewar said: "This order has been a very useful weapon in our armoury against anti-social behaviour.

"After a slow start when the reduction in complaints was not at an acceptable level it has certainly been a success."

PC Dewar said officers had not needed to return youngsters to their homes but gave assurances that if the number of complaints increase again, police will not hesitate to renew the order.

He also revealed police may consider applying for dispersal orders in areas such as Greenmeadow, Fairwater and St Dials, where anti-social behaviour causes concern.

Tim Barry, operations manager of Cwmbran town centre, said: "This is a flexible piece of legislation, which we feel we don't need at this moment in time.

"We are trying to engage youngsters and get them involved in projects but we will certainly keep an eye on the situation."