As someone who deals with ASB and prepares ASBO applications for court, I agree this is a heavy handed approach by a warden that obviously does not know how ASB's are obtained.
There is a new law come in under the cleaner neighbourhood acts for fly posting, but ASBO's are to stop repetitive offending. ASBO's cannot be applied to "One offs" as in this case, no judge or magsitrate would look at this seriously.
A warning letter would have to be sent out first to the family and this would have to be recorded in the case file as to the type of "Repeat behaviour" that provoked this warning. Staments would then have to be prepared and witnesses inteviewed. ASBO's are about Harrassment, Alarm and Distress so anyone outside of the family needs to prove H.A.D.
This process takes weeks if not months unless the public are in danger which I find highly unlikely!
Going back to some of the other comments a lot of people think that kids hanging aorund are causing ASB, but kids in groups is not ASB it is their activities. Someone mentioned that the CC will not deal with the kids, well do the CC know? Are there diaries being kept to prove the HAD? How do you know that they are doing nothing, have you asked the ASB officer for your area?
ASBO's are not that easily obtained contary to popular belief and it takes evidence that proves on the balance of probabilites that they have caused H.A.D. There has to be a strong burden of proof and I really think that family have nothing to worry about, but I agree someone needs a shake up!
This will die a death, hopefully there is a ASB manager out there feeling rather
Law lecture over!