In the past month four people have been given orders for aggressive begging and disorderly conduct.

The ASBOs mean that on top of punishing criminal offences, persistent offenders could ultimately be banned from the city centre for a set period of time.

Officers say the orders send a "stark message" to trouble makers.

Safe environment

Inspector Andy Stokes of Derby Police said: "This is just one of the many ways we intend to fight the rise of violent crime in the city centre.

"We want to send out a stark message to those people who think they can come into the city centre and continually commit offences and cause problems."

"We will pursue them firstly through the courts with the threat of prison for committing criminal offences and then we have ASBOs available to us, a power which we will use.

"The general public should be able to come into Derby and have a good time, but at the same time need to be reassured that they are in a safe environment."