Police want an anti social behaviour order placed on 16-year-old Malmesbury youth if he is found guilty of firearms offences and assaulting police officers.

If given it will be the first time a behaviour order has been placed on anybody in Malmesbury.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was the first juvenile in the town to be electronically tagged because of his violent conduct after an alleged incident with a ball bearing gun on the High Street and an alleged assault in the town centre within 24-hours of each other in November.

A court decided to fit the tagging device on one of the alleged attackers while they awaited trial. The tag can monitor whether a person is at home or not and report if they are breaking imposed curfews.

The same youth was one of a group who were arrested trespassing at Malmesbury Abbey churchyard last month. He is accused of assaulting two police officers PC Alan Webb and PC Philip Connor.

Antisocial behaviour orders were introduced in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to clamp down on people, mainly youths, who persistently harass others. They can set conditions prohibiting specific anti-social acts or assign off-limit areas to an individual, who could be jailed if he breaks the order.

Acting sergeant Martin Alvis said the police can apply for the order only if the youth is found guilty of the firearms offence when he appears at Swindon Crown at a date yet to be set.

They could also apply for an order if the boy is found guilty of assaulting a police officer when he appears at Chippenham Magistrates court at 10.45am tomorrow.

Sgt Alvis said: "It is a punishment that is there to protect the public from further crime being committed and it will be applied for because the offences are serious enough to do that."