DUDLEY Council is to spend £50,000 to tackle yobs at a centre for people with learning difficulties in Norton.

For five years The Mere Centre has been targeted by hooligans and thieves taking advantage of its isolated location to commit crime.

Following pressure from Norton councillor Heather Rogers and Stourbridge Parliamentary candidate Margot James, work is set to begin during the summer to install new security measures at the Mere Road site, now called The Stourbridge Centre for People With Learning Disabilities.

Margot James said: "Initially it was proposed to erect a fence across the front of the Stourbridge Centre facing the playing fields.

"We opposed this for two reasons, it would have been an eyesore, and it would have meant that the people with learning disabilities would have felt fenced in, with their view obstructed".

Among a series of incidents at the centre, staff reported several offences of criminal damage and abusive graffiti on walls which caused distress to adults visiting for vital support services.

Following a series of meetings between representatives from the council, Norton residents and the police, a range of improvements have now been agreed.

A spokesman for Dudley Council said: "We are making a number of improvements to the security at the Mere Centre following consultation with residents and centre user groups.

"We are improving and raising the height of fencing as well as putting metal shutters on all doors and windows at the front of the property. Anti-climbing measures are also being added to the roof.

"The work is due to start at the end of July when the centre is closed."