A POLICE crackdown on teenage tearaways on an Eastleigh estate is already starting to restore peace to the area.

Officers listed part of the Boyatt Wood area of the town as a hotspot, following an unprovoked attack on a 22-year-old Chandler's Ford student by a group of teenage tearaways.

He was assaulted by a gang of up to ten 15 to 16 year-olds after visiting a friend on the Boyatt Wood estate.

The student was left with a badly bruised right eye in the attack in May.

In the wake of the assault, further inquiries revealed that a gang of young troublemakers were "creating havoc" in the Boyatt Wood area.

Last month Eastleigh police announced that they were designating the Twyford Road area near the BP filling station as a "hotspot" and that the Shakespeare Road shopping area was already receiving special attention.

Beat officer patrols over the weekends, particularly on Friday and Saturday, were stepped up.

Special constables were encouraged to support these patrols and the police appealed for information and evidence from the community if anyone felt they were being intimidated.

It seems that the policy is now working, according to former mayor Maureen Sollitt, who is a councillor for Eastleigh North which covers the area where trouble has flared.

She said there had been serious problems with teenagers in Eastleigh North recently.

But she was pleased to report that following the police activity the troubles seem to have subsided at least for the time being.

Councillor Sollitt said: "I am glad that the current problems have gone.

"However, I would urge all residents to call the police in the event of further problems."