"Feral" vandals who dug up metal posts in Bullcroft Park and used them as javelins have been described as "brain dead" and a menace to Wallingford.

Police appealed to anyone who saw anti-social behaviour in the area to report it immediately so it could be dealt with.

They have backed a resident who said the culprits needed to be caught and dealt with. The man has also condemned youths who emptied dog mess bins and scattered the contents on the ground in front of the park gates.

The resident — who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals — has started to compile a picture gallery of the mess he finds in a bid to get action to stop Wallingford becoming what he described as a "rubbish dump". He said he was totally fed up with picking his way through mounds of litter, including pizza boxes and chicken bones, when he took his dog for its morning walk — and of hearing youths rampaging through the town centre.

He was incensed when he found youths had dug up metal posts supporting fencing around the old tennis courts in Bullcroft, used them as javelins and left them strewn around.

He said broken glass was a regular problem in the park.

He said: "We are always hearing about what people want to do to create a better future for Wallingford, but I think they ought to be taking strong action now, along with the police, to stop these vandals and those who make the town look scruffy with litter."

Town clerk Andrew Rogers said: "Some of these people are feral, it's the only word for them.

"But what do you do with people like this — they are brain dead and have no respect for authority at school, the police or their parents. We are changing those tennis courts into basketball and five-a-side football pitches for the benefit of young people, trying to help the youth of the town. But this small section of our young people is making it very difficult to justify this."

He said: "You can't have the police camped out in Bullcroft 24 hours a day to catch them. All we can do is not let them win. We have to clear up, put things right again and carry on. But it is very disheartening."

The resident said: "I am sure I am not the only one in Wallingford fed up with what Wallingford has become, with gangs of teenagers getting drunk, running riot, shouting and swearing across Market Place at all hours of the day and night. Something has to be done about it."

Police said they had increased patrols in trouble spots in a bid to cut down on both vandalism and litter, with police community support officers having a highly visible presence.

Sgt Frazer Weller said: "We are aware of anti-social behaviour in the Bullcroft. The team do patrol this location on a regular basis and have weekly contact with the town clerk. It is important that if people are aware of incidents of anti-social behaviour, they report them to the police and not assume that someone else will."

South Oxfordshire District Council's cabinet is considering bringing in fixed penalty notices to punish litter offenders, but that would come into effect next year.

A council spokesman said: "We are very active in identifying those that litter and place waste out early. We do take this seriously and do prosecute where cases are proven under the powers we are allowed to use."