People living in Oxford's Leys estates have told police that drugs, antisocial behaviour and a shortage of youth facilities should be tackled.

The police intend to send questionnaires to every household in Greater Leys, asking residents what issues they want to see the force to target. They will spend three months analysing the responses.

At a south east area committee meeting in Blackbird Leys, Insp Cecilia Agger, who is in charge of policing the estates, got the ball rolling.

Her officers spent an hour listening and writing down residents' grumbles on a flip-chart which, at the end of the evening, people were asked to rank in order of priority.

Top of the list were the perennial problems of drugs and drug-dealing, antisocial behaviour, not enough for youngsters to do and the fact that Cowley police station closed at 10pm.

Insp Agger, 35, said: "If people don't tell us what problems there are, then they can't grumble when we're not doing what they want us to do.

"We might not solve all the problems completely, but we will tell people what we have achieved."

Dumped rubbish, speeding vehicles, youths riding scooters and motorbikes illegally, petty vandalism and groups of congregating teenagers also featured on people's wish-list of problems to be sorted out.

Only a handful of people said knives and the threat of people carrying weapons was a concern.

Canvassing opinion in Greater Leys was the idea of Supt Paul Sullivan, Oxford's new area commander.

If the pilot scheme proves a success, the police will sample opinion in the rest of Oxford.

But 43-year-old Edwin Thomas, said: "Lots of people are talking about graffiti, antisocial behaviour and children being a nuisance when there are no facilities for young people.

"I can remember being a young person and if there were things for you to do, it took away a large proportion of children doing antisocial things.

"If councillors keep sticking their heads in the ground, we're going to be having this conversation time and again."