SYLVIA Shaw’s clarion call for communities across the city to rise up and stand firm against yobs and thugs deserves real praise.

Plagued by antisocial behaviour for the past decade, the single mother-of-three could not be blamed for wanting to hide in her house.

Instead, she bravely stood up in court and gave evidence against one of Oxford’s most persistent troublemakers, playing a pivotal role in magistrates handing Byron Haines an extension to his antisocial behaviour order.

Now she has urged others to do the same in an effort to finally beat the thugs.

How often do we read or hear about communities being blighted by low-level, but persistent thuggery, which makes the lives of the law-abiding majority a misery?

But how many people would be brave enough to confront those responsible head-on?

People are quick to criticise the police and councils for failing to act, but the truth is the authorities need to be armed with information in order to do so.

It is up to communities to log details, call in reports about antisocial behaviour and menace the authorities for this battle to be won.

Beating the yobs isn’t going to be won with the twitching of curtains, but with the courage of people’s convictions.

We do not advocate that thugs should be confronted head-on in the streets. It is only with selfless actions – like being brave enough to stand up and give evidence in a court of law – that this battle will ever be won.

We applaud Miss Shaw for her efforts – and hope communities across the city start to take notice of what lengths some have to go to in order to make a lot of people’s lives much happier.