Proactive work tackles dangerous anti-social behaviour in Southfields, Northampton

06 January 2026

Local neighbourhood policing officers have been working in partnership with West Northamptonshire Council and Stagecoach to tackle anti-social behaviour in the Southfields area of Northampton.

In recent months, a small minority of young people have been throwing rocks at local buses causing Stagecoach to temporarily suspend its services in the area.

This has left local residents without access to this vital mode of transport, especially elderly people, unable to travel.

As a result, local neighbourhood policing officers have identified the issue as an area priority and have been working alongside the council and Stagecoach to tackle it.

Patrols have been taking place at key times and regular Beat Bus events have been organised to offer reassurance to the local community.

The team has also been engaging with local schools to encourage them to speak to students about the damage this kind of behaviour has and how it can leave vulnerable people feeling isolated.

Local PCSO, Rose Turner, has also been using the Northamptonshire Police messaging service - Northamptonshire Talking - to communicate with local residents, in support of the reestablished Residents’ Association.

A lot of proactive work has been going on to tackle anti-social behaviour in Southfields and I would like to thank PCSO Turner for her hard work in this area.

We have made in-roads in identifying some of the young people involved in this activity and I would ask them to please consider other people before engaging in this type of behaviour.

Your behaviour might seem harmless, but as well as having a negative effect on local people, especially the elderly who see buses as lifelines, it could cause real, serious injury.Scott Farrant, Neighbourhood Policing Inspector

This kind of behaviour isn’t harmless fun, it’s incredibly dangerous for drivers and passengers on these buses, and at very least causes damage and disruption.

We’re committed to continue working with police colleagues in tackling this kind of anti-social activity and helping restore a regular and uninterrupted bus service to Southfields. Some members of the community rely on buses to get around, and they are the ones worst affected by this.Cllr Richard Butler, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport

The safety of our customers and staff is our first priority. This is not harmless fun, it's dangerous and we will work with the police to make sure anybody caught through our onboard CCTV will be prosecuted.

Objects thrown at buses can cause serious damage and can cause serious injury to our customers. We appreciate the work of PSCO Turner, Northamptonshire Police and West Northamptonshire Council in helping us to address this issue.

We know customers have been inconvenienced by the need to temporarily withdraw services, but this has been unavoidable given the anti-social behaviour we have witnessed. We hope to be able to restore services without further incident in the near future.Mark Whitelocks, Managing Director for Stagecoach Midlands

To find out more about what’s happening in your local area, sign up to the free messaging service at Northamptonshire Talking website.