A schoolboy is arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and a public order offence - and parents living on the Southampton estate say he could now be one of many.

To the youngsters, The Zone youth club in Townhill Park has been a lifeline with up to 60 children crowding into the building in Benhams Road two evenings a week.

Now neighbours worry that its closure will leave youngsters bored with nothing to do - and could end up being tempted into crime.

Some residents living nearby complained about the noise and nuisance it generated - but all agree something must be provided for the youth on the estate now it has been boarded up.

The Zone was run by a charity and the premises were owned by the primary care trust. They have plans to redevelop the site and organiser Leesa Betteridge has been unable to find an alternative venue.

She said: "The kids are going to be angry and they will feel as if they have been abandoned. I have heard them say they feel that people just don't care.

"People around here have complained about the club but it is the only place suitable for a youth club project because it is in the heart of the estate."

Youngsters who regularly attend the club said they would now have to hang around on the streets and they worry they will inevitably end up in trouble with the police.

Thirteen-year-old Katie Wood from Benhams Road said: "Most of us are going to get into trouble with the police because we have nowhere to go now. It's pathetic."

Insp Steve Latham of Bitterne police said: "Young people's provision is very important in areas like Townhill Park. Unfortunately The Zone club is just not able to continue and it isn't through lack of support, it is very popular.

"Other community buildings have been approached in the area but all of them have refused to take on the club because of the perceived problems with young people, but at the end of the day the community has to help itself.

"There is a prospect of a club being run from a local church hall but that is in the pipeline at the moment. We would certainly welcome that.

"Although not a good excuse for young people getting into trouble, they do say that it is because they have nothing to do and nowhere to go.

"Now this club has closed there is effectively no facility in the area whereas places like Thornhill and Harefield have very good youth club facilities.

"We will not be able to tell whether the closure of The Zone club will have an impact on the crime like nuisance calls and antisocial behaviour in the area.

"Unfortunately, we usually do see a rise in that anyway during the school holidays. We will have to wait and see if at the end of the holidays we still have a problem."

Southampton City Council employs two youth workers on the estate. Back in March youngsters fired an air gun rifle at a female youth worker and hit her in the leg.

A spokesman for the City Council confirmed there were no plans to open a council-run club.

Concerned mother of two Gail Collimore from Witts Hill said: "On Mondays and Wednesdays I knew my kids were safe because they were at The Zone. Now they won't have anywhere to go at all."

Mary D'Orleans, whose home is next door to the youth club, said she was relieved it had closed - but agreed an alternative must be provided for the children.

"It has been horrendous living next door to this. There should be youth provision but I don't want it next to me."

Worried mother Anna O'Keefe said she was concerned that powers to disperse gangs of youths that are on trial in three locations in Southampton may be brought into Townhill Park.

"I am concerned that our kids have got nowhere to go now so they will end up being in trouble with the police," she said.