Home Secretary Theresa May has announced new plans to tackle anti-social behaviour in England and Wales, including orders to replace Asbos.

A new community trigger to force police to investigate repeated complaints will make it quicker and easier to stop anti-social behaviour blighting the lives of communities, the Home Secretary said today.

Theresa May said she wanted to stop repeat victims suffering unnoticed by giving communities and residents the power to make the police take action.

Forces will be required to investigate any incident reported by at least five people, or any three separate complaints by the same person.

Speaking after meeting residents in Hulme, Manchester, she said the measures in today's white paper 'will give people the confidence that when they call the police something will be done'.

'I want to see the police dealing with anti-social behaviour when it happens and when people are reporting it,' she said.

But victims were saying that time and time again nothing was happening, she said.

The new powers, which will be trialled in three areas, 'will enable residents to say that the point has come where the police are required to do something', Mrs May said

As the Home Secretary ends Labour's anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos), which have been described as a badge of honour among anti-social youths by critics, Mrs May will bring in streamlined measures designed to ensure police take incidents of low-level nuisance seriously.

Mrs May's reforms will replace 19 measures with six powers that target people, places and police powers.

For full story see tomorrow's paper.