A SENIOR Helensburgh councillor has welcomed a pledge from the town’s new police inspector to tackle youth disorder – but says she hopes speeding drivers will be the focus of a crackdown too.

Councillor Ellen Morton was responding to pledges made by Inspector Roddy MacNeill, who has outlined the aims of the force in the area for 2019.

Inspector MacNeill has promised “a robust style of policing” with initiatives to deal with youth disorder and anti-social behaviour after adopting a similar approach in his previous post in Dumbarton.

He also says he hopes to introduce random spot checks of cars in the area.

Cllr Morton said: “I wouldn’t want to overstate youth disorder in the town.

“Obviously we had a number of serious incidents, particularly in connection with Hermitage Park, and there was trouble at the train station or on trains.

“So I am very happy for the police to deal with youth disorder incidents when they occur, but equally I wouldn’t want to categorise youth disorder as being a major issue.

“The vast majority of our young people are really well behaved and contribute lots to our community in different ways, including as part of our youth forum.

“As a councillor, I have more complaints about speeding, particularly relating to dangerous driving near schools.

“I accept that when youth disorder happens, it is very distressing for the people involved and it needs treated.

“But the public raise more concerns about dangerous driving near schools.”

Councillor Morton’s concerns over motorists come with the future of school lollipop crossing patrols in doubt.

Council papers published last month revealed that scrapping school crossing patrols in the area altogether was one of the options being considered as the authority prepares for another round of spending cuts in its 2019-20 budget.

Councillor Morton added: “I don’t want to see any service disappear but the harsh reality is that our budget has been slashed by the Scottish Government.

“A proportion of our budget is also ring-fenced for a particular purpose, so we cannot make cuts to the budget in those respects.

“Only a tiny amount of our budget is available, but I think I would regard it as premature to comment on any service being affected.

“By law, we must produce a balanced budget, and there are no good choices to be made.”