Lives 'calmed' after Asbo issued

Dennis Tee is banned from parts of Bideford for three years

Residents of a north Devon town say their lives have dramatically improved after a teenager was given an Anti-social Behaviour Order (Asbo).

Dennis Tee, 18, of Bideford, was given the Asbo in September after months of harassing local people.

Barnstaple magistrates heard he had committed many offences, including throwing a wooden pole through a window and kicking in a resident's door.

One elderly couple said that Tee had made their lives "hell".

Foul language

The couple (Mr and Mrs X), who are aged in their 70s, said that attacks had forced them and other residents to go to police.

Tee committed a string of criminal damage, threw stones and urinated in public places, including out of upstairs windows, the court was told.

Mrs X, who did not want to be named because of fear of reprisals, told BBC News: "You used to go out and come home thinking, 'what on earth am I going to find now?'

"I was in tears because I just wanted to move. I was in such a state."

The Asbo prohibits Tee from using or encouraging others to use foul, abusive, insulting, threatening or intimidating language.

He is also banned from Ayres Close, Brennacott Place and Brennacott Road, Bideford.

The order applies for three years and was granted after Tee was convicted of damaging property belonging to Devon & Cornwall Housing Association.

It was like being in a ship in a storm and you wake up one morning and the sea is all calm again Mr X, local resident

The couple kept a log of disturbances which police say helped secure the Asbo through the courts.

Mr X said: "It suddenly went quiet, it was like being in a ship in a storm and you wake up one morning and the sea is all calm again.

"It is brilliant here now, really lovely. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

Pc Perry Hodgson, a neighbourhood beat manager in Bideford, said the Asbo against Tee was the first for the Torridge area of Devon.

She said: "It's probably taken us a year of gathering evidence and encouraging and reassuring residents because of intimidation.

"It is a difficult process.

"But it's been used successfully in other parts of the country and, as people realise it is a very useful tool, it is easier to make these applications and get through the courts."