A police officer was punched and kicked by a girl in Westbury last night (January 16).

A 15-year-old girl was taken home by police and will now be investigated for assaulting an officer.

An official 12-hour dispersal order was issued to clear the area around Leigh Park Community Centre of teenagers, following repeated concerns about anti-social behaviour.

Wiltshire Police says the teenagers are from Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbury and that they frequently come to the town to 'cause trouble.'

Officers promise they will crack down on future trouble-making and they have appealed to parents to take a hand as “it is clear that some of the parents of these teenagers have no idea about the trouble they are causing”.

A Section 35 Dispersal Order gives the police the powers to order people to leave the area or face potential arrest. 

A police spokesman said: “Officers issued a dispersal order in Westbury last night following repeated concerns about anti-social behaviour. The local Neighbourhood Team have seen repeated incidents where a group of young people have been gathering in the town and causing issues.

“Last night at around 4.40pm, we received calls regarding anti-social behaviour close to the Leigh Park Community Centre. Police attended and, when they tried to engage with the group, an officer was verbally abused and punched and kicked by one girl.

“A 15-year-old girl was taken home by police and will now be investigated for assaulting an officer.”

The spokesman added: “Due to the ongoing behaviour of the group, a decision was made to implement a Section 35 Dispersal Order, which remained in place until 5am this morning. This gave police the power to order people to leave the area and allowed officers to arrest anyone who failed to comply.”

Inspector Al Lumley, from the Warminster Area Community Policing Team, said: “We are continuing to have issues with this particular group of people, who appear to be teenagers from the Warminster, Westbury and Trowbridge areas and are continuously coming to Westbury to cause trouble.

“I hope this latest action by the local team shows that we will not tolerate this and we will use the powers at our disposal to tackle anti-social behaviour, which we know is causing frustration and annoyance for the local community.

“I would also appeal to parents to ensure they know where their children are, who they are hanging out with and what they might be doing. It is clear that some of the parents of these teenagers have no idea about the trouble they are causing.

“Also, these young people need to know that if they are stopped by police due to anti-social behaviour, then they need to comply with our requests and give us their name and address. If they don’t, then they could find themselves being arrested and taken into custody.

“Finally, I want people living in Westbury to be reassured that the neighbourhood team will continue to carry out proactive patrols and liaise with partner agencies in a bid to tackle this anti-social behaviour, and I would encourage you to report any incidents to us so we can target our patrols accordingly.”