Sergeant Robin ColbourneA POLICE officer is calling on parents to play their part in the fight against yobbish behaviour in Swindon.

Sergeant Robin Colbourne, pictured above, believes the behaviour of the current teenage generation has hit rock bottom.

The father-of-two has spoken out today as a shop-a-yob hotline to serve the town goes live and the Evening Advertiser laun-ches its anti-yob campaign.

"We have brought up a generation which has no respect for authority," he said. "Parents have a responsibility."

SERGEANT Robin Colbourne has spent the last half of his life living and working in Swindon.

The father-of-two says the behaviour of the current teen generation is the worst he has ever witnessed.

He says police are doing their bit to make neighbourhoods safer, but wants parents to take more responsibility.

"We have brought up a generation which has no respect for authority," said Sgt Colbourne, 50, who oversees community policing in some of the town's most troubled areas.

"Parents need to think of the effect the behaviour of their kids is having on other members of the public.

"Imagine it's your elderly mother who is verbally abused when she walks to the shops."

Parents, he said, need to be more aware of what their children are doing at night.

"We are doing our bit by stepping up patrols, but parents have a duty too," he said.

"Be aware of what your kids are doing.

"Are they out causing problems?

"Parents have a responsibility. If their children are arrested, they will be called to the station."

He believes the root of many of the problems in areas such as Pinehurst, Haydon Wick, Taw Hill and Rodbourne Cheney is booze.

And he wants parents to be more proactive.

"If your kids are coming home late smelling of drink, then it's obvious what they have been doing," he said.

"Think of the people whose lives are ruined by anti-social behaviour.

"I'm not blaming all kids, but there is a small minority who blight particular areas.

"If these young people were better behaved, our society would be a better place to live."

It's not just youngsters who irk Sgt Colbourne.

"I went jogging the other weekend and found engine parts dumped in a brook," he said.

"I mean, have people no respect for the neighbourhood? It's all about responsibility.

"A clean environment makes people feel better, while a dirty environment encourages people to make more dirt."