"SPARSE" police cover is being blamed for an outbreak of anti-social behaviour at Sedbury.
Residents claim a village feature built round an old oak tree at the end of King Alfred's Road is being trashed by an unruly gang who gather there at nights.
"The noise and the rubbish has to be seen to be believed. On Monday morning there were enough empty cans and bottles to fill five or six crates. It looked as though an off-licence had exploded there," said resident Colin Jenkins.
On previous occasions local people have cleaned up the area themselves, but on Monday they decided to call out the council in a bid to highlight the problem.
"It has got out of hand. People come to the area in cars and it is slowly being trashed. The problem could be sorted but there is a lack of police cover," said Mr Jenkins.
He said people living nearby were becoming increasingly concerned.
One couple claimed the problem had become so bad they were unable to sell their home.
"It has got to the stage where it has to be stopped. It is happening most nights and sometimes goes on into the early hours. It is time the police took some action," said Mr Jenkins.