CALLINGTON town councillors are considering closing a public car park at night because of the 'constant aggravation' caused to local residents by young drivers who meet at the site.

At a meeting of the town council last week resident Malcolm Hood said the problems in the Saltash Road Car Park were a long running saga and it was time for the council to take some action.

Screeching tyres, loud music and abusive language in the early hours of the morning were causing distress to residents almost on a daily basis.

'I have called the police on the 101 number three times in the last month and there has always been a response, but unfortunately by the time the officers get up there the scoundrels have gone,' said Mr Hood.

'We have short fixes where something is done and then it goes quiet for a couple of months but then it rears its ugly head again. Instead of discussing it all the time, we want some action from the council.'

Mr Hood said a neighbour of his had been verbally abused when he asked them to be quiet. 'A verbal attack is usually the first step, physical abuse often follows,' he added.

Cllr Denise Winfindale who lives near the car park said she had been out on occasions to speak to these drivers, not all of whom had just got their licence but were in their late 20s. She said she understood they needed a place to meet but the residents could not cope with the noise.

'I said they would have to self-police the situation or we would consider closing the car park,' she said.

She added that the outside services committee of the council was looking at a range of options to help the situation.

Portreeve and chairman of the council Jeremy Gist said he had visited the car park on occasions and persuaded the young people to go home.

'I have had some very good conversations with them and I would say that eight out of ten are not causing any problems.

'It is a wonderful facility for the youngsters because it is somewhere they can park, in reasonable lighting, and socialise. If they are being sensible no-one would mind.'

Cllr Gist said a multi-agency approach was being used to tackle the problem, including the youth service and a private security firm that the town council employed at weekends to stop anti-social behaviour.

Cllr Andrew Long said even if a barrier kept the car park closed at night, the problem would be pushed elsewhere: 'The police need to catch them in the act but that is very difficult. Unfortunately, some of the people we have spoken to have been obnoxious, it is like they are laughing at us.'

Police community support officer for Callington Mark Stribley said the problem went in peaks and troughs and flared up again when a set of newly licenced drivers appeared on the scene.

He said it was important people contacted the police if they witnessed incidents and took registration numbers but he understood some people did not want to do this for fear of reprisals.

'My own personal opinion is closing the car park at night is the only option but I do think the problem will move to the Tesco or Co-op car park,' he said.