SECURITY wardens will be patrolling Weymouth’s streets this summer.

Dorset Police have approved Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s plan for a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS).

The initiative, set up by Dorset Police in 2014 using Government legislation, allows for the transfer of limited police powers to public security patrols.

It comes after a similar scheme began in Boscombe in July 2016 for an initial period of 1 year before being extended by council officers through until 2020.

Under the approved scheme, two wardens will be recruited who are charged with tackling and deterring begging, drug dealing, shoplifting and general anti-social behaviour across the town centre. Weymouth and Upwey rail stations would also be part of the patrol route.

The wardens, who wear body CCTV cameras, are intended to deal with such issues as street begging, street drug dealing and people drinking alcohol in designated ‘no drinking zones’.

They are also intended to quell anti-social behaviour by acting as a continuous uniformed presence on the streets, as they can only operate within their designated area and are not called away as police officers are.

The two wardens will work in one patrol working flexible hours during daytime and early evenings with some weekend and Bank Holiday cover.

A spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said that the recruitment process had started and that the new wardens will be patrolling the streets in the summer.

Councillor Francis Drake, former spokesman for Community Safety at the council, added the council will work with partners to protect businesses, residents and visitors through the scheme.

A Dorset Police spokesman said that the approved the scheme will allow police officers to focus on other high priority crime areas.

Councillor Robert Lawton, Bournemouth Borough Council’s portfolio holder for housing, added: “It is similar to what is in place in Boscombe.

“It has certainly improved the situation in Boscombe, although there is still more to be done. It has eased the problem of people being afraid to go to cash points or into shops due to begging of an aggressive sort.”

The CSAS scheme in Weymouth will run for a pilot period of two years.