IT was a busy Saturday night for police officers in Barrow this weekend as a number of young people were asked to leave the town centre.

Earlier in the day, officers warned they were on foot patrol in Barrow following reports of anti-social behaviour outside McDonalds on Dalton Road over the last two weekends.

After one tweet called the town a "no go area after dark", officers responded, saying: "I wouldn't go that far. Yes we all need to deal with the issue. Parents, where are your kids?

"Some care, some don't. We had kids from all over town in the centre.

"We aim to pick off the ring leaders.

"Parents, help by stopping your kids from hanging around town in the evening."

They added: "It isn't a no go zone, not by a long way.

"The vast majority of people have no issues at all. Sadly, there are always some people who cannot behave no matter where they are."

A dispersal order was put in place for the town centre during the evening.

The order allowed police to order someone they believe to be involved in disorder to leave the area or face arrest.

Police posted: "Lots of debate on kids causing anti-social behaviour in the town centre. This is stopping us from focusing on other priorities.

"We spoke to a parent this weekend and they had no problem with their 12-year-old being out in town at 10.30pm on a Friday night. Is this ok?

"On the flip side I spoke to a parent looking for their 12-year-old child who has been missing three times this weekend in the town centre. The kid is drawn to the older kids. Parent is doing their best but can't keep them inside.

"Some kids are ok, some have no respect or feat of authority, even of the police.

"The days of a 'clip around the ear' have gone. You can debate that. We the police are left to try and pick up the pieces."

A teenager was arrested after assaulting a member of staff in McDonalds, while a 15-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of assault in the town centre near the fast-food restaurant.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Surprise surprise we have arrested a 15 yr old female on suspicion of assault in the town centre near McDonalds. She will be in custody over night for interview in the morning. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kidsandalcoholdontmix?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kidsandalcoholdontmix</a></p>— Barrow Police (@barrowpolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/barrowpolice/status/942170329392271360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">16 December 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A male was also arrested on William Street on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences, with the police saying: "There is no excuse at all for this behaviour."

Other offenders to be arrested include a male on suspicion of domestic assault and someone accused of shoplifting from a local supermarket, calling for offenders to "just pay for stuff."

Posting on Twitter at 4.26am, officers said: "Eight in the cells at the moment, one for court on Monday and five for assaulting people. All will be processed during Sunday. #JingleCells #SantaWontBeHappy."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">one arrested for shop lifting from one of local supermarkets. easy to avoid this happening, just pay for stuff <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/jinglecells?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#jinglecells</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/oneforcustody?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#oneforcustody</a></p>— Barrow Police (@barrowpolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/barrowpolice/status/942149494023614464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">16 December 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>