BY MARK MCKELVEY
AND MICHELLE CANNING

AS the number of anti-social behaviour incidents reported to police continue to rise, it was revealed this week that the first ever ASBO has been issued in the Omagh district.

This is a command issued by a magistrate which aims to prevent an individual acting in an anti-social manner by restricting their ability to be in certain places at certain times. Failure to comply can result in a fine or imprisonment.

It was also revealed that there are three of these restrictions currently issued in the Dungannon Borough and one each in Strabane and Cookstown council districts.

A new report released last week by the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) examining the operation and effectiveness of ASBOs stated that there were 2,599 anti-social behaviour incidents in Omagh district in 2006 and 2007; 1,438 in Strabane; 2,937 in Dungannon and 1,722 in Cookstown.

The shocking reality of underage drinking in Omagh was also driven home to teenagers at a special youth forum last week.

A 14 year old close to death with alcohol poisoning; the parents of a drunken teen, whose parents asked police to take her quietly upstairs because they had visitors, and a 15 year old lying in a hedge unconscious, close to a busy road.

These were just some of the horror stories revealed during the youth forum, to hundreds of 15 year olds from schools across the district on Friday.

The PSNI's Peter Thompson told teens of the type of problems they are having to sort out on the streets of Omagh every weekend.

Four encounters were outlined, all involving young teens, in a bid to convey the message that alcohol is the biggest factor in youth crime.

In one instance, police noticed a young girl, who appeared slightly unsteady on her feet at Drumragh carpark.

Half an hour later, officers saw what they thought was a body lying in a hedge.

It was the 15 year old girl, unconscious through alcohol. When she was taken home, her mother thought she had been at a friends for a sleepover.

One of the most shocking revelations was the story of a young girl called 'Claire.'

A routine patrol spotted two females carrying a third, who appeared to be very drunk. It turned out that 'Claire' had been involved in a fight and her friends decided to take her home.

When police took 'Claire' home they were met by her parents who said they had visitors and asked the officers to take their daughter upstairs 'quietly'.

In the third incident, 14 year old 'Bob' was one of a gang of youths seen acting suspiciously. All of the group ran away, except Bob, who had tried but collapsed because he was drunk.

When his parents arrived at the station to collect him, his condition began to deteriorate. He slumped into an unconscious state. 'Bob' spent two days in hospital, close to death from alcohol poisoning.

In another incident four drunk young men smashed the glass window of a Chinese restaurant at John Street, before throwing a television through the kitchen hatch.

Arrested and placed in the cells for the night, the four were like 'little lambs' the next morning.