Okehampton Community and Recreation Association (OCRA) is helping to deal with a spike in anti social behaviour in the town by offering young people a place to go on Friday nights.

The community group hosted its first after-school youth group for teenagers last Friday (November 26) at its centre in the Pavilion in the Park to try and tackle anti-social behaviour by providing them with an alternative space to socialise after school hours.

This follows a report by Okehampton’s youth club, Room 13, which stated that the club discovered that some teenagers were not returning home after school.

Ian Blythe, general manager of OCRA, said: ‘[The youth group] has also encompassed some of the trends identified by Room 13...so OCRA has acted to provide a specific space for them to go.’

The group will meet regularly on Friday nights and OCRA is offering the children use of the Pavilion and the sports field.

Initially, OCRA will provide the teenagers with sport-based activities but it is open to suggestions for other events.

It hopes that the children will come forward with ideas and the range of activities provided will grow.

Ian Blythe said: ‘This could be as simple as chatting with their friends at OCRA’s Pavilion in the Park or providing music to dance to, alongside a kick about for some or throwing a frisbee around.’

The club sessions have been funded by Active Devon as part of their Tackling Inequalities Funding, which was set up in April 2020 as part of Sports England’s desire to support sports groups during the pandemic.

It is one of the first clubs in the area which was created for young people under the project in order to provide older children with a safe after-school place where they can enjoy themselves.

Police officer Gideon Pritchard said: ‘We are working in partnership with other organisations such as OCRA to future-proof the town against anti-social behaviour.

‘The opportunities to get involved will make a difference, improving outcomes.’

The new youth group is the brainchild of the Yes Tor Project, a partnership including Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, Okehampton College, Devon and Cornwall Police, the youth club Room 13, and OCRA which aims to create stronger relationships between old and young and reduce anti-social behaviour simultaneously.

Derrick Brett, executive principal at Okehampton College and Carl Seaward, former youth liason officer, set up the project with the aim of ‘improving intergenerational relationships’ but expanded the project’s reach when they realised that the problem was bigger than originally thought.

Under the project, Okehampton College has already undertaken the ‘Daffodil Project’ through which pupils planted daffodil bulbs across the school grounds which they subsequently offered to Castle Ham Lodge which provides sheltered accomodation to older people.

Yes Tor is now working towards a new initiative to provide children with the opportunity to try out activities their families may otherwise be unable to afford.

The organisation is funded by Okehampton United Charities, Okehampton Town Council and Devon County Council.

The move comes as concerns over the rise in anti-social behaviour in Simmons Park increase which has been put down to a small group of young people.

A study by South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership showed that anti-social behaviour referrals increased by a third since last year and an increase of 180 per cent in the number of first-stage letters sent to the perpetrator or parent/guardian over the same period.

Last year the zip wire in Simmons Park’s play area was vandalised by a group of young people and there were several instances of stones being uprooted and left on pathways.

The police, borough council, social landlords and community mental health teams hold monthly meetings to discuss anti-social behaviour and the support needed to care for vulnerable adults who could become victims of such disruptive behaviour.