Uniformed marshals will be back patrolling two town centres plagued with crime.

The patrols over half-term are part of Swale council’s Safer Streets campaign, which aims to tackle antisocial behaviour and reduce violence against women and girls in Sittingbourne and Sheerness.

The marshals will be working to prevent anti-social behaviour, following the positive response to their initial patrols over the December holidays.

They’ll be wearing body cameras and have radios connected through Swale Link to the council’s CCTV centre.

This means they can coordinate with the CCTV team and local police, which has led to successful interventions in the past – like tracking down those suspected of vandalising the Beachfields’ public toilets.

A council spokesman confirmed the authority is looking at appropriate dates to redeploy the marshals during future school holidays.

Alongside these patrols, the council is also working on other measures to help people feel safe.

This includes installing additional CCTV cameras in both Sheerness and Sittingbourne, improving lighting in open spaces such as the four extra solar lights in the Beachfields play area, funding youth programmes at the County Youth Club, offering free active bystander training and trimming down overgrown trees to make spaces lighter and more open.

Cllr Richard Palmer, chair of the community committee, said: “Our safer streets project is making a tremendous difference for our community, with the street marshals already showing results in reducing antisocial behaviour in our town centres.

“We know that making the town centres of Sheerness and Sittingbourne safer will have a wider impact on the whole of Swale, being the bustling and lively hubs of our community.

“The uniformed presence during school holidays, which often sees an increase in ASB, is a targeted way for us to achieve a safer Swale.

“We are utilising this funding as efficiently as possible, to get the most value out of every penny, improving the lives and safety of our residents.

“There are even more exciting initiatives to come, like additional CCTV cameras, active bystander training and improving lighting in hotspots for antisocial behaviour.”

Funding for the campaign came from the government’s Safer Streets Fund, after the council - through the Community Safety Partnership - worked with the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner to successfully bid for the additional resources.

Cllr Elliott Jayes, vice chair of the community committee, said: “Swale needs to be a safe space for every resident, especially women and girls who can often feel vulnerable to violence, which is simply unacceptable.

“The measures we are implementing through our safer streets project will help make Swale a safer place for all.

“It would have been amazing to receive additional funding so that we could help other areas of Swale, but the criteria were very limited and severely reduced our options.

“Despite these challenges we are proud to have secured this funding for Sittingbourne and Sheerness and know it will have a lasting impact for our community.”