by Martin Jefferies

Thanet council has hit back after a Ramsgate estate was labelled by a government minister as having the worst record of anti-social behaviour she had seen in her current role.

Meg Hillier (pictured), a junior minister at the Home Office, met with residents of the Whitehall area on Thursday.

She had been supporting Labour's parliamentary candidate Stephen Ladyman and pledged to take local people's concerns - including calls for a new community centre and CCTV cameras - back to her department.

But Brendan Ryan, director of community services at Thanet council, denied claims the authority was not using resources to tackle anti-social behaviour as effectively as it should be, insisting the council was "really proud of what it has achieved so far".

He said: "We've targeted a great deal of resources towards tackling the levels of anti-social behaviour here and have started to see some real improvements.

"These have included our Clean Sweep operations, increased patrols by our community wardens, community fun days, diversionary activities provided by our Sport Matters team, as well as extensive intervention from Kent Police."

Mr Ryan added: "The council, working with Fegans, Hyde Housing, Orbit Housing, Kent Police and local councillors, has also co-ordinated the Whitehall Project Group, which is looking to breathe new life back into the recreation ground.

"Our teams have been working directly with the community and have consulted with residents by knocking on every front door, attending local PACT meetings and organising community fun days to talk to as many local people as possible.

"The group has also applied for funding to start making improvements to the recreation ground and we're hoping to announce whether we've been successful in the near future."

Other candidates contesting the South Thanet seat at the general election on Thursday, May 6, are the Conservatives' Laura Sandys, the Liberal Democrats' Peter Bucklitsch and the UK Independence Party's Trevor Shonk.