Mr Evans criticised police for their action in dealing with youths' anti-social behaviour. His comments followed reports an elderly man and his neighbours in London have been plagued by a gang of youths from the local school for months. However, when he tried to photograph the youths, as advised by the school's headteacher, he was told by police it is illegal to take photos of them without permission.

"The police need to get their priorities sorted when dealing with the safety and well being of the public," said Mr Evans. "It is worrying that the police were more concerned with stopping aggressive youths from being photographed than stopping their anti-social behaviour.

"I feel the police need to find a balance, which will enable them to protect the public. A number of people have approached me in the Ribble Valley about similar behaviour.

"Not all young people are guilty of anti-social behaviour and I fully support the British Youth Council's 'Respect?' campaign to change the media's portrayal of youth culture.

"However, when the minority are guilty of anti-social behaviour, the police should have the mechanisms in place to deal with them appropriately.

"Threatening legal action against a concerned member of the public for taking a photo of anti-social behaviour only serves to distract from the key issue."