Discontent erupted at the conclusion of the last public DPP meeting during which Larne's Area Commander Ryan Henderson had delivered his three-monthly report, showing that Larne police were statistically achieving all but one of the local policing plan targets.

Mary Magill of the Sallagh Park Community Association said she wished she could say "everything is rosy and great, but it is very much not" and challenged Chief Inspector Henderson over her area's neighbourhood police officer, who she claimed "had vanished into thin air".

"I do not know where on earth it's gone wrong," she said.

Bertie Shaw of Seacourt Community Council said that anti-social behaviour in the estate was now at "an all-time high". He said the fear of crime among residents was very high and there were many concerns that needed to be addressed.

He gave the meeting examples of vandalism, underage drinking, gang fights and drug-taking within the area and told how it was increasingly frustrating for community representatives to face issues like this on an ongoing basis which didn't seem to be dealt with by the authorities.

"We are losing the battle on the street corner. A lot of people are in fear of crime and are frightened of what might happen next. There's a lot of work still to be done in areas like Sallagh Park and Seacourt and a lot of disaffected people out there."

DPP chairman Winston Fulton suggested that Chief Inspector Henderson could meet the community representatives to "iron out" these problems.

Mr Shaw said he would like the DPP to monitor the situation.