POLICE have vowed to crack down on disorder in the streets after serious disturbances in two South Lakeland market towns.

At Kendal, a gang of drunken youths pelted police officers with rocks on the Sandylands estate in the early hours of Sunday morning.

And at Ulverston, carnival day ended in a night of mayhem in the town centre with police attending 18 outbreaks of public disorder, criminal damage and assaults.

South Cumbria's police area commander Super-intendent Colin Mather said an exhaustive investigation would follow the Kendal incident and he would make every effort to arrest what he described as "a small group of anti-social people who are affecting the quality of life of people in South Lakeland."

He warned: "I will ensure that incidents like this will be dealt with.

I am not having it.

These people are not going to throw stones at my officers."

Police were called to Sandylands just after midnight after residents complained of noise and disturbance near Crag View, on Jenkin Rise.

Nine officers searched for between ten and 20 youths, who had scattered throughout the estate and hidden in gardens

Residents, who did not wish to be named for fear of reprisals, spoke of rocks being thrown by drunken youths and bottles being smashed in an incident lasting about 20 minutes.

One Crag View resident said: "I heard the police van pull up and then loud thuds of something being thrown at them.

I also heard bottles being smashed.

"The situation has been getting worse for some time here.

There are youths on the park most weekends, swearing, shouting and drinking.

The police have come out and asked them to move on but this is the first time anything like this has happened.

" Something should be done about the under-age drinking going on in the park - that is where a lot of the trouble begins."

Police quashed any speculation about links with the Bradford race riots at the weekend, but stressed behaviour such as stone throwing would not be tolerated in South Lakeland.

Supt Mather insisted police maintained a grip on the situation throughout, making two arrests at the scene and patrolling the area afterwards.

Kendal town councillor Carole Cliffe, who lives on the estate, called for more community policing and better parental control of youngsters, adding: "These youths do not consider anybody else, they have a total lack of respect."

She said many of Crag View's residents were elderly or disabled and were intimidated by the youths, who created a disturbance outside their property.

"A lot of the elderly are living in fear.

They dare not complain about it because they fear repercussions," said Ms Cliffe.

Kendal Mayor Coun David Birkett condemned the Sandylands incident as "deplorable".

At Ulverston, Saturday was described by police as one of the busiest and threatening nights in the town for many years.

Inspector Dave Spedding, of Ulverston police, said the carnival ran smoothly but, between 7pm and midnight, trouble erupted all around the town centre, mainly on the streets outside pubs.

Police were called to numerous reports of assaults on King Street, Queen Street and North Lonsdale Terrace, as well as reports of criminal damage to cars at Ford Park.

Four arrests were made.

Police blamed it on people drinking large amounts of alcohol and the hot weather.

Insp Spedding said he would talk to the carnival committee about the incidents.

"I would like to discuss things with the carnival committee but it is far too early to talk about what went wrong," he said.