NINE troublemakers have been banned from an Oxfordshire town centre for 48 hours after police were called to deal with their antisocial behaviour.

Thames Valley Police said its officers were called out to the centre of Bicester last night after reports of yobs causing problems.

The officers ended up dealing with nine youngsters, taking every one of them home and speaking to their parents.

In order to stop a repetition of the disturbance, they force also handed all nine of the troublemakers so-called Section 34 orders - banning them from going back to the area for 48 hours.

A short history of antisocial behaviour in Bicester

It comes after years of antisocial behaviour problems in Bicester town centre, especially with unruly teenagers hanging around, intimidating people and causing trouble around Pioneer Square.

In January last year we reported how staff at Bicester Library, which opens onto Pioneer Square, were so intimidated by threatening behaviour and drug use in the area that police were drafted in to help.

By November that year, some residents said the problems were worse than ever and Oxfordshire County Council admitted its staff had closed the library early one day that month because of youths running riot in the area.

That same month, pranksters 'TPed' buildings around the town centre - hurling toilet paper over them in an American Halloween tradition. Police almost immediately found one of the culprits and marched them back to the scene to clear up the mess.

In September this year, when the Tropic Bar in Pioneer Square applied for permission to open later, local police said it had not done enough to help stop antisocial behaviour in the area. They said if managers wanted to open until 1.30am on Friday and Saturday nights they would have to pay for bouncers to help keep the peace.

And, in October, police appealed for witnesses after a 26-year-old woman was attacked so badly in Pioneer Square that she had to be treated at hospital.