With his blue hair and eyebrow studs, Daniel Hall is all too aware that most older people view him at best as a rebel and at worst a troublemaker.

But the 16-year-old, who is a bright and articulate teenager, feels he should not have to suppress his creativity just to fit in with society.

He was one of almost 50 young people who packed Broad Green Social Hall in Swindon on Monday night to discuss how they are perceived in their communities and what can be done to make them and others in their areas feel safer.

The town's 1998 crime audit showed that young people are the most likely perpetrators of crimes but it revealed they are also the most likely victims.

And in a fear of crime survey carried out in the last year, 37 per cent of under-21s in Swindon said they avoided going out alone, while 66 per cent said they felt unsafe walking locally at night.

The Youth Consultation Event, the first of its kind, was organised by Swindon Council's Crime and Disorder Implementation Team to bring together groups of young people from across the town to talk about these fears with people in authority.

Director of Education Mike Lusty, deputy council leader Derek Benfield, Swindon Central councillor John Taylor, and Coun Barrie Thompson, who represents the Parks ward, were just some of those on hand at the evening.

Bullying, drugs, rape, muggings and assaults were among the most widespread concerns they were told the youngsters shared.

And more youth clubs, better facilities such as a skate park and more legal graffiti sites, and greater dialogue between younger and older people to overcome misconceptions were some of the suggestions made by the teenagers to meet their needs and make them feel safer.

These ideas were prepared over the last two months by the groups, who came from East, West, North and Central Swindon.

Youth workers worked with the young people, encouraging them to write their thoughts down in the form of posters so they would have something concrete to discuss at the event.

Their views will now be incorporated into an action plan which will be used to draw up the next crime and disorder reduction strategy for 2001/2002.