THE wet summer and high-profile policing kept crime down in Wallingford, although there were still pockets of anti-social behaviour, police have reported.

Town councillors noted that there was less vandalism and graffiti in the town.

Police community support officer Taqwa Hyatt said: "We are very pleased at the way the summer holidays have gone.

"There has been less criminal damage in Wallingford, which is positive, and we had very little activity at the Riverside, probably due to the lack of sunshine.

"But issues remain, including youths taking shelter and congregating in places such as around Wallingford library and beneath the town hall. We are lucky to have cameras covering the town hall and close to the library in order to keep an eye on the youths.

"We are actively patrolling these areas and are regularly talking to everyone to make sure everything is in order."

Town clerk Andrew Rogers said: "Things seem to be calmer in the town — incidents of graffiti and vandalism are down. We have not had vandalism in the children's play areas and there is not so much broken glass around. There will always be problems, but at the moment they do not seem so bad."

Council member Theresa Jordan said: "The lousy weather could have been our friend in this case. And there has been less anti-social behaviour among young people, something I think that Wyll Willis, the head of Wallingford School, can take a lot of credit for with his new regime up there. He has done a great job."

However, police crime reduction officer Mark Bradfield urged people to check their home security, making sure doors and windows were secure. He said: "There has been a spate of attempted burglaries, with two properties in Coopers Piece attacked — with attempts to pick or force the front-door locks — but, fortunately, neither was successful. And, in Wantage Road, a front door was damaged, but again no entry was made."

Mr Bradfield said: "There have also been a number of bikes stolen, mainly because they were not locked up.

"We are urging cyclists to have their machines postcoded so that they can be returned when they are found — most stolen bikes are dumped within a very short time."