GARAGES being used as brothels, street crime and anti-social behaviour will be some of the issues a Walthamstow police officer has promised to tackle.

PC Mike Nicolaou, the newest member of the Hoe Street Safer Neighbourhoods team, has been given the task of patrolling the Attlee Terrace estate and has been asked to make the area his special project.

He also aims to stop drug dealers targeting youngsters and using the run-down garages on the estate as drug dens, brothels and for hiding stolen property.

He wants to engage with the young people and make residents feel safer.

The Guardian was invited to join PC Nicolaou and other members of the Safer Neighbourhoods team on patrol in the area, meeting local youngsters.

The ward's three councillors Eric Sizer, Naz Sarkar and Saima Mahmud also joined the patrol.

PC Nicolaou, who has been a police officer for three years, said: "Attlee Terrace is one of Walthamstow's problem areas and a lot of the youngsters don't trust police.

"What we want to do is target the kids and give them something they want, make them believe in us and they can change their ideas about police."

Sgt Stefan Milkowski, who heads the Hoe Street team, said PC Nicolaou would be a great asset to the team and the area.

He added: "I have given him a project and that is Attlee Terrace. I want him to live and breathe it and make it his objective to make inroads there and improve the lives of people living there."

A group of youngsters aged from under ten to 18 were introduced to PC Nicolaou and the ward councillors One teenager who wanted to be known as Shady, 18, said the run-down cement football pitch on the estate should be levelled out and rebuilt as a basketball court as that was what the young people wanted.

A 17-year-old girl, who did not want to be named, said: "There is nowhere for the kids to go. All the other estates in the borough have community halls or centres but we don't and that is what we want."

The Hoe Street Safer Neighbourhoods team is one of 20 covering the borough that were rolled out last year. Each team is made up of a sergeant, two PCs and three police community support officers.