POLICE foiled a plot by gangs of youths from towns and villages across South Lakeland to organise a mass brawl using an internet chatroom, reports Paul Duncan.

Cumbria Police crime prevention officer Terry Belshaw said that groups of young people from towns such as Kendal, Windermere, Staveley and Burneside had attempted to use the popular website Bebo to arrange a fight on the Glebe in Bowness.

"Bebo is apparently being used by groups of children from various schools to get in touch and arrange to get together for different purposes and we believe it was being used by two groups to have a scrap."

"However, we were able to do some good proactive work and visited homes and spoke to parents and there were also officers on duty in Windermere to stop it before it started," said Mr Belshaw.

Inspector Tudor Griffiths said the incident was part of a growing problem of anti-social behaviour and youth disorder in Bowness and Windermere.

"It was identified that there was going to be some element of conflict between rival youths who travelled through on the train with the intention of having a bit of a scuffle. However, we swiftly intervened and got the parents of some of the youths to come and pick up their offspring.

"There were at least 12 youths but we have been having groups of up to 100 young people gathering in the area at weekends."

For full story see the March 9 Westmorland Gazette.