AN alcohol ban in the heart of Wantage could be extended to cover a car park which has been blighted by antisocial behaviour.

Wantage Town Council has asked police to widen the zone covered by an order which bans alcohol from being consumed in a public place to include the Mill Street Undercroft car park, in Letcombe Mews.

The current order includes Wallingford Street, Newbury Street, Church Street and parts of Mill Street.

However, town councillors want police to keep an eye on the Undercroft, which opened at the end of last month.

The 35-space car park was built as part of the Limborough Road development in 2007, but its opening was delayed until a legal agreement was finalised between the owners, Sainsbury’s, and the Vale of White Horse District Council.

During the two-year wait, the car park was vandalised with graffiti and arson, and two store cupboards were broken into.

Mayor Patrick O’Leary said the town council was taking early steps to get the alcohol ban extended to cover the Undercroft before the weather turned and youngsters sought a dry place to hang out and consume alcohol.

Mr O’Leary said: “We have had a few problems at the Undercroft car park at the bottom of Mill Street.

“It has only just opened, but we felt during the winter months, people might take refuge there, so we thought extending the zone there would be a good idea.

“We are just taking precautions. The council thought it was a good idea.”

The Vale of White Horse council would have to agree to an extension and put up new signs in the area.

Linda Hatter, of Top Hatters Gifts Boutique, in Mill Street, backed the ban. She said: “Now the car park is up and running, I can imagine it being quite a convenient meeting place for teenagers, so I think it’s good to extend this ban.”

Lee Chalmers, who runs the family-owned Lamb Inn, in Mill Street, said: “This can only be a good thing, but if there is no one there to make sure teenagers aren’t drinking, it will be pointless.”

Police in Wantage said the current alcohol exclusion zone was introduced by the Vale council many years ago and also covered hot spots including Betjeman Park, near Letcombe Brook, the Sweatbox youth club, and the Chestnuts play area, near Smith’s Wharf.

Sgt Darren Price said: “There are stickers on lampposts around the area delineating the zone and officers use it as a preventative measure to stop people wandering between public houses with bottles or glasses of alcohol. The premises with licensed door supervisors also pro-actively prevent customers leaving with such containers.”

He added: “If the zone was extended to cover Undercroft car park, we would ensure that officers regularly patrol the area to make sure that it is enforced. This is to ensure we can help maintain Wantage as a safe and enjoyable place to be.”

Under the ban, anyone caught drinking in public could face fines of up to £500 and have their alcohol confiscated.