A YOUTH leader has warned cuts to Kidlington’s youth centre will increase antisocial behaviour under planned council cuts.

Youth worker Stephen Milford said changes to work at The Forum youth centre would worsen the village’s recognised yob problem.

He called for volunteers to help out.

Youth work at the Exeter Hall centre is due to be scaled back as part of Oxfordshire County Council cuts of £4 million.

Last year, police enforced a dispersal order in the village centre after traders reported repeated problems with youngsters, instead directing them to the youth club.

Mr Milford, who chairs the village’s joint youth provisional council, said: “Antisocial behaviour is guaranteed to increase, and a lot of organisations in Kidlington have written expressing concern about the cuts.

“For young people, it will be another service withdrawn.

“They are bored and getting in trouble, and heading towards Asbos, and by the age of 18 or 19 ending up in jail.

“But I think the community can step forwards here and help.”

He added: “We are hoping to have volunteers that can just give up an hour or two of an evening.

“They could bring certain skills, like football or make-up, or just engage with the young people so that they get to form relationships with real adults they can look up to, talk to and discuss problems.

“We need a safe place for young people to meet where there is a responsible adult. They may be going to play table tennis, just hang around or play on XBox.”

The centre is set to be one of six “satellite” centres under County Hall’s restructuring plans, providing early intervention services for the most disaffected youngsters. But traditional youth work will be scaled back and it is proposing to withdraw funding from a further 21 centres.

Council bosses have called on volunteers to run centres, but there are fears they will close without council cash support.

Mr Milford, who works for Kidlington Baptist Church, said he aimed to keep the club open three or four nights a week, including from 6pm to 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, but it depended on volunteer numbers.

Kidlington Parish Council member Chris Robins said: “There have been problems in the High Street with the need for the dispersal order, and a lot of the lads involved in that diverted to The Forum.

“One thing that does concern me is whether some issues really need professional expertise rather than volunteers, but if that is withdrawn, we have to go forward with what we can.”

People interested in volunteering should contact Stephen Milford at milford.stephen@gmail.com or chairjyp@gmail.com