Anti-social behaviour in Wem has plummeted thanks to a scheme which sees adventure activity days provided for youngsters in exchange for them taking part in community projects, police claimed today.

Officers said the number of anti-social behaviour incidents had been significantly cut since they introduced the ‘character-building’ sessions three years ago. Police said they were offered to young people in return for community working.

Activities included kayaking, mountain walking, caving, mountain biking, rock climbing and white water rafting.

The community work projects included litter picking and leaflet drops.

The scheme has proved so successful that Wem officer Constable Dave Carpenter hopes to repeat it over the next 12 months.

He has a £1,500 grant from the West Mercia Police Authority’s community initiatives fund to meet the cost of the scheme.

Constable Carpenter said since it began in 2008 the scheme had seen about 150 children taken on activity days by police staff in a bid to build bridges with young people in the Wem and Shawbury areas.

He said: “We would like to show some continuity of approach by rolling this on into 2011-12, increasing our access to the local schools and social services.

“Our partners – Thomas Adams School, Wem Town Council, Shropshire Council and the youth offending services – have all been very encouraging in response to our efforts.

“Our follow-on activities have included working with a sheltered housing scheme, providing a Christmas shopping-bag packing service, litter picking and leaflet drops.”

He said the initiative was helping tackle problems such as underage drinking and littering. Youngsters attending activity days must first agree to take part in police-supervised community projects such as litter picks, graffiti cleaning and gardening.

He added: “We have listened to the concerns of the general public about anti-social behaviour and to youngsters who say they have nothing to do. As a result, anti-social behaviour reports for the age group we have been working with on this project in the Wem and Shawbury area, have dropped.”

By Tom Johannsen