STREET patrols to crack down on antisocial behaviour and crime in Kent will be carried out by new "accredited wardens", the Home Office has announced.

Kent Police have been given new powers to "extend the police family" by inviting community workers to become neighbourhood or street wardens.

Most applications to become wardens are expected to come from parish or district councils, housing associations and the voluntary sector.

Kent Police spokesman Mark Pugash said the schemes were under consideration and would be introduced "further down the road".

He added that the new wardens would play a different role to the rural community wardens, which were brought in 18 months ago through the Kent Rural Partnership between Kent County Council and Kent Police.

He said: "This is something we are interested in. It is a new option for the police and we will look at it closely. But it is something that will come in further down the road.

"It is slightly different from the rural community wardens scheme. These are neighbourhood and street wardens. They have the potential to sit side by side with each other."

The new wardens will be given a badge and uniform to make them a visible police presence in communities.

They will have powers to demand the removal of abandoned vehicles, confiscate alcohol or tobacco from young people, confiscate alcohol which is being drunk in a public area and issue fines for dog fouling or riding on footpaths.

They will also be able to take the name and address of people who are acting antisocially or who have committed offences

They will not have the power to detain suspects, use force, enter properties or seize vehicles.

Kent Police is one of 13 forces in the South East where the schemes will be brought in. More information about the wardens, as well as other police reforms, are available on the Internet at www.policereform.co.uk