The experiences of neighbourhood wardens on the streets of Philadelphia and Washington were showcased to representatives from many London boroughs at Mertons civic centre last week.

Stacy Irvine, director of Crime Prevention Services, Philadelphia, and Frank Russo, senior director of the Business Improvement District in Washington, were in Merton to relay the success of their respective warden schemes in turning around many downtown areas.

Mr Russo was asked by the audience if he thought the schemes in America had been successful in persuading the public to leave neighbourhood nuisance issues, such as abandoned vehicles and graffiti, to the wardens.

He said: Absolutely. We make sure we get back to the person making the complaint and tell them how long its going to take to solve it and what we are doing.

Graffiti is removed immediately within 24 hours which discourages the problem.

Asked if there had been any incidents where the safety of wardens had been compromised, he said: Actual physical violence has not occurred.

What happens is after a period of time a mutual respect develops. The wardens are not viewed as a threat.

The event concluded with a special presentation to Pollards Hill warden, Eric Crane, who was given a national commendation award for his youth work on the estate.