Surbiton Hill residents are being plagued by antisocial behaviour in School Lane, according to Conservative councillor Paul Johnston.

After attending a meeting for residents with the Surbiton Hill Safer Neighbourhoods Team Coun Johnston said: "Residents have been complaining about antisocial behaviour, such as people turning up at two in the morning and making a lot of noise.

"There are also suggestions that the trading of illegal substances is going on."

Coun Johnston said the problem was the sheltered stairwells of the maisonettes of the School Lane estate, where young people have been gathering at night.

He said: "I'm convinced it is not the residents of School Lane or their children.

"People are coming from elsewhere to hang out in the sheltered stairwells of the maison- ettes because they have nothing else to do."

He applauded the Surbiton Hill Safer Neighbourhoods Team for their work in the area but said he believed that a bigger police presence would be a good deterrent.

"Councillor Nick Kirby and I have worked with Surbiton Neighbourhoods Team which has been very good and worked very hard to stop the trouble.

"But what would really solve it would be more bobbies on the beat, of course," he said.

Chief Inspector Tim Pointer of Kingston Police said: "We asked School Lane residents to tell us what worried them the most about the area.

"Seventy-six per cent said they were happy with the policing in the area but some residents identified antisocial behaviour as a concern.

"They are concerned about moped use and have found Rizla papers around."

The Safer Neighbourhoods Team is planning a week of action for the beginning of November and hope to get to the cause of the problem by talking to the people concerned.

Chief Insp Pointer added: "Often people are not aware they are upsetting others and it could well be that they do not mean to cause any harm."

A spokesman for the council said that the CCTV cameras in School Lane were in need of replacement as the picture quality was not good in low-level lighting.

He said: "Four months ago, the company carrying out the repairs on the cameras told the council it was no longer cost-effective to repair them.

"The matter was then put out to tender, and work to replace the cameras with digital cameras is starting this week."