Gangs of youths will be thrown out of Banbury's Castle Quay shopping centre if they wear hoods.

The centre's commercial director Paul Jackson said that in the past few months there had been complaints that groups of teenagers -- some wearing hoods -- were intimidating shoppers.

He said: "There is the suspicion that those who wear hoods do not want to be identified on our CCTV cameras.

"Castle Quay believes that local people and visitors should have a customer-friendly and enjoyable environment in which to shop. It is evident that the majority of family shoppers find large groups of youths and those wearing hoods intimidating.

"In future, after taking advice from the police and the Banbury Crime Partnership, the centre will ask large groups to disperse or move on, and will also request that hoods are removed while they are in the centre.

"For the benefit of all our customers our security staff will eject the youths if they are not there to shop.

"It is not our intention to deter young shoppers from using the centre, but they must appreciate that Castle Quay is a place to be enjoyed by everyone."