DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR CHILDREN ARE?

Those are the questions being levelled at parents in a leafy Hampshire town where police are cracking down on young louts that plague the streets during the long summer holidays.

Posters are being put up around Romsey in a bid to raise parents' awareness that their children could be the ones causing trouble.

It's their latest bid to clamp down on antisocial behaviour.

Already officers regularly write letters to parents - but for every 30 sent to homes barely more than one parent will reply.

Officers now say they are fed-up taking responsibility for troublesome youngsters when their parents don't even know where they are or what they are doing.

Romsey Inspector Peter Funnell said too many times the police are left to pick up the pieces of poor parenting.

"We have to take children home aged 13 or 14 who are in drink and to be honest we never know what reaction we are going to get from the parents.

"There is only so much we can do, so if the parents don't even know what their children are doing and where they are, it falls to us. "We are asking parents to think about that and do their bit to help stop the growing problem of juvenile nuisance."

Romsey police, who will be supported by neighbourhood wardens in their efforts, have also adopted tactics like writing to parents whose children have been caught being antisocial in the town.

Insp Funnell said he sends out up to 20 letters a month but rarely gets any feedback from the parents.

"I would say for every 30 or so letters I write I may get one response from a parent - once that was to say that police should be directing their energies elsewhere rather than singling her child out.

"There is so much going on in society that is out of our control yet it is the police who are in the front line when nuisance behaviour needs tackling."

Insp Funnell added that officers now take bottle openers out on duty to allow them to dispose of alcohol they confiscate from under-age drinkers in the town.

Parents agree that the move is a positive one.

Dad of two Mark Sillence, 38, said: "I think parents should know where their kids are. It shouldn't be just up to the police to deal with bad behaviour. I know and would want to know exactly what my children were up to."

However, teenagers in the town say they are once again being singled out.

One 16-year-old said: "We do tend to get the blame for most things. I think some of the teenagers are a problem but the rest of us suffer from it."

Another 16-year-old added: "I think the police are passing the buck a bit. When you get to 16 you expect to be given more freedom, it is up to everyone including us to be responsible."

Children charity NCH said they thought a balance needed to be struck.

Spokesman Jacqui McCluskey said: "While it is clear that parents should be responsible for their children it can very difficult to keep children occupied during the summer, especially for low income families.

"Perhaps the money spent on making these posters would have been better spent on sponsoring a playscheme?"