A ban on drinking in a West Somerset recreation ground has come a step nearer.

Williton parish council has put its weight behind a plan to outlaw drinking in the village's memorial ground.

The ban follows complaints from local residents of alleged binge drinking, drug taking and rowdy behaviour.

Cllr Bill Gulliford, chairman of the council, said: "This is a serious problem and the police need powers to deal with it."

Cllr Peter Cleer said older people were being intimidated by large groups of youngsters who appeared to be drunk.

"People are distressed by this, and we are failing our public if we do not do something about it."

Police and West Somerset Council officials are asking local people for evidence to support a designation order which would give police powers to request people stop drinking in the park.

While it is currently legal for adults to consume alcoholic drinks in the recreation ground, under the proposed regime people drinking in the area could be committing an offence if they had been told to stop.

A ban would not preclude a temporary licence being issued for an event.

Local resident Trudy Bennett, of Robert Street, welcomed the council's support for the ban: "It's a cause for celebration, and I hope something will now be done," she said.

"The young people go into the park in the early evening often with a supermarket trolley laden with drink.

"I hear them shouting and screaming until 3-4am, and they leave piles of empty beer cans, food cartons, and sometime syringes behind."

She added: "A ban on alcohol is the only solution."

People views on a ban in the recreation ground should write to PS Tom Mayberry at Williton Police Station.