There is renewed hope that anti-social behaviour in the town centre can be tackled more effectively after it was announced there will be more police on the streets of Watford.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire Constabulary, David Lloyd, announced on Friday there will be 75 new officers deployed across the county, and this is in addition to officers who will work specifically in Watford town centre - announced following a stabbing in The Parade in November.

The news has been welcomed by the mayor of Watford Peter Taylor, who has recently started a town centre task force to work on unruly and criminal behaviour in town, and this work will be undertaken alongside Watford Borough Council, the police, the Watford Business Improvement District (BID) and homelessness charity New Hope.

Mr Taylor said: “I’m pleased that the Police and Crime Commissioner has decided to increase police numbers after year on year cuts in numbers in Watford and across Hertfordshire. I’ve campaigned for a number of years about this and raise this regularly when I meet with the police.

“It’s clear that people in Watford want to see more police on our streets. This is a step in the right direction. It is vital that we must have more police officers on our streets to deter crime and help people to feel safe in their neighbourhoods.”