TOWER block residents said more must be done to keep children out of trouble after rules were brought in to potentially fine young people hanging about the building.

Young people under 21 could be fined £100 for entering Foresters Tower, Wood Farm, unless they live there or are visiting.

If they are spotted there by police, council officers or on CCTV cameras, they will be given a warning.

But if they are found there again, then they will be slapped with a £100 fixed penalty notice.

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This was in response to what Oxford City Council said were “repeated complaints” of antisocial behaviour in the communal halls of the tower block, which has about 80 residents.

However, Samuelle Walters, 24, who lives in the tower said he had never experienced any problems inside. He said: “I can see where it’s coming from and why people are asking for it, but sometimes people just hang around because they’ve got nothing to do.

“Are they really doing anything wrong?”

Handyman Michael Kearnie, 44, said: “I’m born and bred on this estate and I can honestly say I didn’t know about the council putting in these orders.

“Sometimes the stairwells are messy after youngsters have been in and they can cause a bit of bother, but when I was young I did the same as we had nowhere else to go.

“I think that the council is not looking at the kids’ needs and I think it should look at the bigger picture and get them more involved in stuff so that they don’t have to sit in the stairwells and hang around.”

Claire Layton, 47, who has lived in the tower block for two months, said: “When kids are on the stairwells they can intimidate and shout abuse at people and if you’re an elderly person, you would feel even more intimidated.

“I think it’s right to stop them hanging around the stairwells, but I do think more should be done to keep them occupied.”

Daryl Edmunds, head of the council’s anti-social behaviour unit said youngsters had left rubbish and smashed bottles on the landings and caused vulnerable residents fearing using the lifts and corridors.

Councillor Dee Sinclair, board member for crime and community response, said: “I am relieved that the new powers can be used to help residents of Foresters Tower. Of course we also want to make sure our young people have things to do, but the unacceptable behaviour of a few has caused a great deal of misery and it is important that we tackle this problem robustly.”

Oxford City Council became the first local authority in the county to use new powers to allow them to do this, known as public space protection orders. Breaches the orders are treated as an offence. The order will remain in place until February 20, 2018. The council is also consulting in similar order for Shire Lake Close, where residents were said to have experienced problems with people drinking in public and using their gardens to dump rubbish.

Thames Valley Police did not comment.