A 23-year-old man has become the first adult in Wales to be hauled to court under an anti-social behaviour order.

Police asked magistrates to place the order on Matthew Davies after 36 complaints were made against him by people in a south Wales village.

Davies was among a group of trouble-makers who regularly gathered at the village green in Glyncorrwg near Port Talbot for all-day drinking sessions.

Over two years, jobless Davies terrorised the villagers.

He appeared in court with his tradmark "tears" tattoos on his face - and oriental writing tattooed on his head.

Night-time curfew

The anti-social behaviour order was brought in by Home Secretary Jack Straw under the Crime and Disorder Act.

Davies did not fight the order which bans him from drinking in public and places him under a night-time curfew on him between 2330 and 0730 BST.

He faces up to five years in prison for breaking the terms of the order.

Villagers in Glyncorrwg in the Upper Afan Valley welcomed the move.

'Yobbo mates'

One - who was too frightened to be named - said: "He is a disgrace to humanity."

"He and his yobbo mates have made life hell for a lot of people here."

"They have nothing better to do that hang around The Square in the centre of the village - they drink, shout and swear."

"Ordinary decent people have been too frightened to go anywhere near them," said the villager.

Under the law, magistrates must be convinced the person has caused harassment, distress or alarm.

The first order in Wales was brought two months ago against a boy of 13 from Wrexham who "plagued" neighbours.