A GROUP of youngsters were arrested in a seaside town during Halloween celebrations.

The eight boys, all aged between 12 and 14, were detained for a total of 20 offences including trespassing, criminal damage and harassment.

They were arrested in Worthing where police had been issued with additional stop and search powers due to a recent upsurge in youth violence.

This included several incidents in which children aged between 11 and 14 were singled out by a group of young thugs, who then brutally beat them and filmed the attacks.

The order allowed officers to “search anyone and seize any weapons found in the Worthing District without grounds”.

Chief inspector Sarah Leadbeatter of Adur and Worthing said: “The order, an enhanced stop and search order without grounds, was in place to ensure young people were able to go out and enjoy themselves and feel reassured that we could deploy resources quickly if a problem arose.

“Our resources were able to disrupt groups of young people in the Worthing area and we arrested eight boys, all aged between 12 and 14, for a total of 20 offences including trespassing, criminal damage and harassment.

“The decision to implement the short-term order was not taken lightly but shows the seriousness of our response to the violence involving and affecting young people in the community.

“Our close working partnership with other agencies will remain and we will continue to tackle this behaviour, which is totally unacceptable.

“We are appealing to the public to continue to report matters of anti-social behaviour to us and there are many ways you can do this.

“You can report it to us online or by calling 101 or anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers or Fearless.”