NEW laws forming part of a nationwide crackdown on anti-social behaviour have been welcomed by a Furness MP.

Under the plans perpetrators of anti-social behaviour will face swift and visible justice, increased fines and enhanced drug testing.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that his Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, will make sure that this issue is treated with the urgency it deserves, establish a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of anti-social behaviour, and give the police and local authorities the tools they need to tackle the problem.

Barrow and Furness MP Simon Fell has recently surveyed residents and businesses of central Ulverston following on from numerous complaints of damage being caused to properties at evenings and weekends, and in Dalton following calls for more action to prevent anti-social behaviour around the leisure centre park off Chapel Street.

Mr Fell said: “As part of our plan for Furness we are working together to tackle anti-social behaviour once and for all.

“With that in mind I welcome this announcement from the Prime Minister today (March 27).

“Local people are fed up with seeing tagging of boarded up shops along Portland Walk, smashed shop fronts in Ulverston, and concerns about anti-social behaviour in Dalton.

“We have secured extra police presence in these areas, and funding through the ‘Safer Streets’ fund to provide councils and the police with some of the tools they need to tackle this scourge on society. But there’s more to be done and this announcement today will go further towards helping us to achieve our goal of tackling anti-social behaviour once and for all.”

Under the new Immediate Justice scheme, those found committing anti-social behaviour will be made to repair the damage they inflicted on victims and communities, with an ambition for them to start work as soon as 48 hours after their offence so victims know antisocial behaviour is treated seriously and with urgency.

Mr Fell said: “Anti-social behaviour is unnecessary and Furness residents are sick of it. By forcing offenders to repay and repair the damages they have caused in such a swift way, with even more police on the streets and council officers given the powers they need to act, we are sending a message that we will not tolerate this anymore.”

Under the zero-tolerance approach, Nitrous oxide or ‘laughing gas’ will also be banned. The drug is now the third most used among 16 to 24-year-olds in England, and both the police and public have repeatedly reported links between use of the drug and nuisance or anti-social behaviour.