PEOPLE who have suffered years of vandalism on their Malvern homes have asked the council to find a way of controlling the yobs responsible.

Tim Robinson, who lives in the Dukes Meadow area, arranged a meeting for local people on Tuesday at the Pickersleigh Centre, with Malvern Hills District Council and the police, after having his greenhouse smashed.

Afterwards, residents spoke of the damage done by vandals. Gardens and sheds near Dukes Meadow have been repeatedly broken into, greenhouses smashed, garden ornaments taken and fires started.

Jack Hitchins has lived in the area for 18 years. He said his greenhouse had been smashed so many times he has given up repairing it, his sheds have been broken into numerous times and the vandals even tried to set fire to his hedge.

Vera Davis has lived near Dukes Meadow for 15 years and also said the problem of vandalism was ongoing. She said her garage was broken into and attempts were made to enter her house when she was out two weeks ago.

In an effort to improve safety, the council installed a ground level lighting scheme on the service road wich the properties' gardens and garages back onto. But this was simply smashed by vandals.

Mr Robinson said the residents were quite happy with the way things went at Tuesday's meeting, as they had been assured something would be done and another meeting would take place soon.

Ideas for improvement included setting up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme and installing higher lights at the back of the houses.

MHDC Community Safety Officer Jenny Lawrence was unavailable to comment.