A NEIGHBOURHOOD Watch leader who says dispersal orders are pushing Bromley gangs into her borough is calling on police to rethink their strategy.

Carolyn Seymour feels the orders, which impose child curfew zones to combat anti-social behaviour, are simply pushing youths out of Bromley and into neighbouring Croydon.

The grandmother-of-two says the problem is so serious some residents have been left "frightened for their lives".

Mrs Seymour claims the gangs, which can be made up of 50 to 100 youths, arrive from Bromley by bus on a regular basis.

The doctor's receptionist says they then begin congregating in Parkfields Recreation Ground, Shirley Oaks and Wickham Road.

All of Bromley town centre is covered by a dispersal notice and there are also three dispersal orders in the Hayes and Coney Hall ward, on the borough's borders.

Mrs Seymour, of Greenway Gardens, Shirley, said: "Some of them have been peddling drugs, starting fires and even stoning buses.

"Bromley's dispersal orders are there for a reason but the whole strategy of deploying them should be re-thought if this is the result."

In July last year, News Shopper reported on Dianna Fraser, another Neighbourhood Watch leader in Shirley, who was also concerned about the effect Bromley dispersal orders were having on Croydon.

In response to residents' concerns, Croydon police began a scheme targeting anti-social behaviour in the area, which included officers writing to the parents of youths found to be causing trouble.

But Mrs Seymour says progress has been slow.

The 58-year-old said: "I don't think the tactic of notifying their parents has done much to help.

"There needs to be interaction between the boroughs and we need to defeat this problem."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We strongly encourage those who experience anti-social behaviour to contact us so we can work together to eliminate it.

"In April, this particular area will be getting its own safer neighbourhoods team."