A ‘NO tolerance approach’ to anti-social behaviour has to be taken to ensure Basingstoke town centre remains safe, according to the town’s MP.

Hampshire Constabulary has had to issue two dispersal orders in recent months to discourage groups of young people hanging around areas in the town centre, such as the Top of The Town.

And police revealed this week that a 19-year-old man was assaulted in the Castons Yard car park, in New Road, earlier this month with two other teens arrested.

Basingstoke’s MP Maria Miller, pictured, told The Gazette that people need to ensure that the town centre is kept as somewhere people want to visit.

She said: “There has been a lot of money invested in our town centre, to make it somewhere people want to come.

“We need to have a no tolerance approach to people that are acting out and it is clearly a small group and we can’t let them win.”

The recent assault in the Top of The Town took place at around 7.15pm on November 5, in which a 19-year-old man was attacked.

The man was in the car park behind the McDonald’s when he saw a group of about eight to ten youths who started to shout and threaten him.

Officers reported that the victim began to head back in the direction he came from when three people in the group ran towards him and attacked him.

During the attack, the victim sustained cuts and bruises to the face, as well as a broken tooth.

A 13-year-old boy from Basingstoke and a 17-year-old boy of no fixed address have been arrested on suspicion of assault a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm.

Both have been released from custody but remain under investigation.

If anyone saw the attack, they are asked to contact the police on 101, quoting 44170431557.