A town centre's street drinking problem is showing signs of improving, a councillor has said.

Cllr Ashley Wise (Lab) believes "intimidating" behaviour throughout Sittingbourne has reduced since nine Swale representatives from the Labour Party, plus one from the Sittingbourne Independent Alliance, demanded action on anti-social behaviour in the area.

The group wrote an open letter to Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott outlining their concerns about the town's streets.

Cllr Wise says work by police since the letter was sent at the end of August has resulted in more decisive action being taken.

"I have actually witnessed it on several occasions, and people I have spoken to have said the number of people gathering in the high street is a lot less,” he explained.

"Public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) allow police to move people on if they are acting in a bad way and that's what they have been doing.

"We have been wanting to shine a light on the fact councils can't do it alone.

"It's about looking at the high street and town centre as a whole, rather than individual incidents.

"The police have come out after the recent article was published though, so I'm sceptical as to whether they would have taken that action otherwise."

Cllr Wise, who was elected to Kemsley ward in May, insists people “pretending to sleep rough” has also been a concern.

He added: "A couple of the improvements have still been council actions – for example going out to identify those who are genuinely rough sleeping and those who aren't.

"Out of all those people who have been hanging around, only one was actually a rough sleeper and the homelessness team engaged with them to make sure they're not anymore.

"Other things I raised was to do with clearing shop doorways, like at the former JC Rook & Sons shop where there were mattresses stacked up which people were sitting on while they were drinking.

"The same was happening outside the old Argos shop, so that has now been cleared."

The councillors also called on Mr Scott to work more closely with the council and to deploy more police to patrol the town.

However, Cllr Wise says communication needs to be better between members of Swale House and the police in order to combat more issues.

"It's still a shame the police have not once come back to us as councillors about anything, which I find disappointing," he insisted.

"The crime commissioner said everything is good, which it clearly hasn't been so communication isn't as great as it ought to be.

"So I hope the relationship between elected representatives and the police can get stronger so we can keep a lid on issues like this.

"I know government cuts to the police have been astronomical, but people can't be passing responsibility between one another as that's not what residents expect.

"The high street should be a welcoming and inviting environment and an attractive, safe location - until we get to that stage people aren't going to have a town centre they want to use.

"[So] I'm on this issue constantly - I'm not going to let it go."

In response to the letter, Mr Scott said more officers would be deployed.

He explained: “Kent Police is in the process of rolling out a new neighbourhood policing model which will see these officers deployed on the beat to local communities and schools - including in Sittingbourne – and the town is already benefiting from this.

“Tackling anti-social behaviour is a joint responsibility between the police, local authorities and others, so I am happy to work constructively with anybody who wishes to address it.

“I do provide the Swale Community Safety Partnership with a Crime Reduction Grant to deal with such matters.”

Meanwhile another senior police officer has echoed the views of Mr Scott, and said the situation with anti-social behaviour is improving.

North Kent divisional commander Chief Supt Shaun White visited the high street for a walk about in late August and said the force’s neighbourhood policing plan is indeed reducing crime.