Harold residents should rally round to fight the problem of yobs and vandals who are causing problems at Harold Wood Library.

Mayor of Havering, and Harold Wood councillor, Brian Eagling, says gangs of up to 12 youths have been vandalising the library and intimidating library users.

He said: "Why they do this I don't know, but it is something that we have got to fight together to stop. It's okay moaning about it but we need proof, so I've asked people to take photos if they can to catch them in the act."

Cllr Eagling said he had been in close contact with the police about the problem, but they could not be at the Arundel Road library 24 hours a day.

He added: "People need to keep their eyes and ears open and they must not be afraid to report things to the police."

He called on the whole community to pull together to fight the problem.

Sgt Mick Walford, of Harold Wood Police, said his officers were aware of the numbers of youths who congregated in the library area.

He said: "We've had a number of complaints about youngsters hanging around down there. I've been down there several times myself and it is something that we are keeping under review."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.