A Didcot park that has been a site of vandalism and teenage binge drinking will not be locked at night, despite calls from residents.

Ladygrove Park has also suffered from graffiti and boy racers over the summer months - but Didcot Town Council says locking the gate at the Cow Lane entrance to the park would be ineffective and too costly.

Council leader Margaret Davies said locking the gate at night would cost the council an estimated £5,000 to £6,000 a year.

She said: "We cannot keep people out of the park.

"We do not have eight foot fencing and whole areas are not fenced at all."

Mrs Davies says council staff are making regular checks of the park and reporting any signs of alcohol abuse and vandalism to the police.

She hopes the cycle of problems will be broken through an increased police focus on the issue.

She also backs a police campaign to involve parents in the fight against teenage drinking and antisocial behaviour. Mrs Davies said: "Some parents are providing children with alcohol. It has been observed, not just by me, that parents are dropping children at certain park areas with a big crate of Bacardi Breezers or whatever."

She is aware that the problems, caused by a large group of youngsters over the summer months, pose a significant risk to the whole area.

"We have had trouble in Ladygrove Park and it's dangerous - broken glass in a small children's play area can cause nothing but damage and hurt."

Daily litter picks at all park areas are now in place to combat the risk of injury.

Nick Hadjirallis, who lives in Longford Way, first called for the park to be locked in May. This week he said problems with under-age drinking and boy racers were continuing.

He said: "I am convinced there still needs to be a locked gate to keep these people out of the park at night.

"Last Saturday, people came in with cars, doing doughnuts, at about 2am, then again at 3am."

He believes a strategy is needed to deal with those entering the park on foot.

He added: "People want to go there with their kids on a Sunday morning and not see piles of broken glass."

Last week, Didcot's new police inspector Nick Cain urged parents to help combat vandalism and antisocial behaviour by asking themselves if they knew where their children were in the evening.

Extra patrols will target hotspots as part of the crackdown and a poster campaign will inform parents and children of the reality of getting a criminal record - including the effect on job prospects and travel visas.