MCDONALD'S bosses are clamping down on unaccompanied youths visiting their town centre restaurant in an effort to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Curbs have been put in place at the fast food giant's Dalton Road branch following unruly behaviour inside the restaurant and in the town centre.

Unaccompanied youths have been restricted from entering the restaurant without an adult after 5pm.

No more than two children are allowed inside after this time.

The restrictions have been described by the fast food chain as a temporary measure.

A sign on the outside of the restaurant said: "Due to recent circumstances we are no longer accepting more than two youths in our store after 5pm unless accompanied by an adult.

"Please also remove any non-religious head coverings."

The site has long been a concern for police and further incidents were reported over the summer.

In July Cumbria Police said they received multiple reports of youths gathering in the town centre causing disturbance and damage in and outside of the restaurant, and also pulling out plants in the area.

As youths damaged planters in the town centre a dispersal order was put in place for 48 hours.

One of the young people identified as responsible by police had already written a letter of apology and paid £20 to Barrow Business Improvement District, which had planted the flowers.

A second child was reported to police as being involved by his parents having seen the footage on social media and also wrote a letter of apology to the BID.

McDonald's managers have also had to grapple with anti-social behaviour in the restaurant over the past year.

Last December six youths were banned from the store.

Police said at the time it had helped to alleviate problems with anti-social behaviour in Barrow town centre.

A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “The safety and security of our people and our customers is our utmost priority, and our Barrow-in-Furness restaurant has introduced various measures to help mitigate the challenges of anti-social behaviour affecting the wider area.

"This includes temporarily restricting the hours during which unaccompanied children can be served.

"This decision was not taken lightly, and the team continues to work closely with the police and other local businesses to understand how they can be part of the solution.”