A HEDGEHOG being stabbed is the latest in a spate of antisocial behaviour by vandals in a residential area.

The animal was stabbed late on Wednesday evening and “left to die in agony in the middle of the pavement” in the Mile Oak area of Brighton.

This follows several other disturbing activities in the area during the past week.

These include residents’ windows being smashed, houses being egged, rubbish bins set on fire, fences being ripped down and a portable toilet being left in the middle of a road.

Labour Councillor Peter Atkinson represents the North Portslade ward and has called for action to put a stop to this antisocial behaviour.

He said that residents have been left “feeling powerless” and want police and Brighton and Hove City Council to take action and catch the culprits.

Cllr Atkinson said: “There was a spike last year but police got involved and it died down fairly quickly.

“But in the last week it has started again.

“I share residents’ concerns and when I have worked in tandem with police and the council in the past it has been really effective.

“We need that level of cooperation again now.”

Cllr Atkinson is calling for a crackdown on those responsible for the antisocial behaviour.

He said: “I will keep going back to the police and the council and asking for a more co-ordinated response to this current upsurge of antisocial behaviour in North Portslade.

“I’ll be speaking with the council’s own antisocial behaviour team and asking them to work with the police on this, as they often do on individual cases.”

He said some of his residents had struggled to report the behaviour using the police’s 101 number.

He added they had experienced long waiting times of more than half an hour and this had caused them to have “lost faith” in the system.

Cllr Atkinson asked residents to help catch those responsible.

He said: “The local ringleaders are probably well known to a lot of people and that will be their undoing hopefully.

“We shouldn’t tar all young people with the same brush, though. The vast majority of teenagers do not take part in this totally unacceptable behaviour.

“There have also been some very good points made by local residents about lack of local youth facilities and more needs to be done on this front. It won’t completely stop antisocial behaviour but it would give local kids an outlet and somewhere to go.

“There will, however, always be those who are way beyond this approach, and it is these that we need to get the police and council to concentrate their efforts on.”

But he added that Mile Oak and North Portslade remains a good place to live, saying it “has a lot going for it” and residents “mustn’t let a tiny minority spoil it for everyone”.

Sussex Police have acted to put a stop to these activities after discussing the matter with Councillor Atkinson.

A spokesman said: "Sussex Police is aware of the current issues of anti-social behaviour in the Mile Oak area of Portslade and officers have been in liaison with Cllr Atkinson and other community representatives over the last few days. 

"The matter was discussed in detail at a meeting of local action team chairs, attended by police, at Hove Town Hall on Wednesday evening and we continue to work in partnership to address the issues. 

"A PCSO has been assigned specifically to deal with the incidents."