YOUTHS who threw mud at houses have been made to clean up the mess - after police took them home to their parents.

St Helens' police chief has commended an officer and the community for working together to turn the negative into a positive life lesson for children.

On Saturday, November 16, police received numerous complaints from residents of Derbyshire Hill Road in Parr that youths on The Duckeries were launching mud across the road hitting houses and the pavement.

After police found out the identity of the youths involved, they visited their parents, most of whom were shocked to find out what had been going on.

But rather than punish them in legal proceedings, the police and parents worked together to teach the children a life lesson.

So last night, all 14 youths, made up of boys and girls, came together and under the direction of Constable Julie Beach and cleaned up the streets they had vandalised.

The police said: "They all turned up, they were all willing to get involved, none of them complained and they apologised to the residents affected.

"Parents were all supportive and made no excuses for their child's behaviour.

"They shouldn't have done this in the first place, but they have done their best to make it right after understanding what impact this had on the residents and hopefully will have learned a lesson."

On hearing this news, St Helens Area Commander Tami Garvey-Jones added: “Policing is far more than locking people up. We are constantly working to make our communities safer and better places to live, which the incidents in Parr on Saturday demonstrate.

“Constable Beach is one our dedicated community policing officers, whose actions have delivered a powerful lesson to young people about the consequences of their actions to those affected.

“For them all to understand the impact, to apologise, and then clear up their mess is really positive and hopefully moves them down a better path in the future.

“I’d like to thank their parents too, who were understandably mortified to see what had gone on.

"When communities come together, problems get solved and we can all move on.

“If you live in St Helens and have any other concerns about anti-social behaviour where you are, speak to your community officers or pass info via our St Helens Facebook or Twitter pages and we’ll take appropriate action.”