Officers from Enfield Council's pioneering parks police unit have been celebrating a successful start to a campaign to keep the borough's parks free of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Last week a 15-year-old was referred to the Youth Offending Panel by Enfield Magistrates after the parks unit collared the teen in Jubilee Park after an attempted burglary The unit was set up in July and is staffed by Police Community Safety Officers (PCSOs) who have been responsible for 14 arrests for offences ranging from burglary to affray.

Officers have also issued 30 on-the-spot fines for drinking in a public place, littering, firework and traffic offences as well as cautioning up to 370 people for anti-social behaviour.

PCSO Chrissie Cleeve, 22, has been with the unit for two months. She said: "The teenagers seem to respect our uniform and listen when we talk to them. We haven't been that busy at the moment because of the weather at this time of year. The cold weather stops people drinking outside which is where most of the trouble starts."

The unit is the first of its kind in London and replaced Enfield Council's park ranger service.

Martha Mirhaid, 29, a PCSO since June, said: "The people who use the park are very pleasant to us and I feel that they really feel much safer when we are around, especially the older generation.

"For some time there's been a lot of bad behaviour in the parks but it seems to have calmed down quite a lot since we started."