Youth club reduces bad behaviour

Complaints about anti-social behaviour on a Leicester estate have dropped since a church youth club opened, according to a local councillor.

The Unit is a drop-in centre located in a former shop in Hamilton.

Hope Hamilton Church persuaded Tesco to allow it to use the premises for free and the youth club currently opens three nights a week.

Councillor Ramila Shah said: "I got a lot of complaints but recently it's not been as bad."

She added: "What everybody connected with the church has done is fantastic for the community.

"I would like this youth centre to be open five or seven days a week."

Reverend Phil White said: "We're trying to run it on Christian principles but we're doing it so that the young people of the estate have got somewhere where they can feel at home."

Leicestershire's Chief Constable Matt Baggott, who praised the club, said: "I want to see this sort of initiative replicated many times all over Leicestershire, the city and Rutland."