A youth has been arrested in Menston following trouble at the village railway station.

West Yorkshire Police confirmed this week that the youngster had been arrested for breach of an anti-'social behaviour order (ASBO) after an incident involving a group of around 20 youths gathering at the station.

The incident happened at around 9pm on Saturday, February 8. Officers from British Transport Police and West Yorkshire Police were called to the scene after a window was broken at the station, alongside security staff from Northern Rail.

A spokeswoman for British Transport Police said: "We received a call from Northern Rail security staff at the station that there were between 20 and 30 youths at the station.

"Police were called and we attended. As we arrived the group dispersed and went up Newfield Drive. We kept a unit of officers there until 10pm.

"A window on platform 2 had been smashed and we are further investigating that incident.

"If there is any trouble at the station on a regular basis we would urge people to contact us as soon as possible."

Eyewitness Richard Hamer said the youngsters had gathered all round the station car park just after 9pm.

He said: "It was quite a threatening atmosphere and wouldn't have been very nice for an elderly person, or even a young person to be caught up in.

"Some of them were just children, aged about 13 to 16 but when they are together in gangs like that it can seem quite threatening. They seemed to swarm out of nowhere.

"I had just come off the Ilkley train and was walking across the platform when they suddenly appeared out of the darkness.

"There was a young girl in a silver Clio which kept making an appearance and the kids would go up and talk to her in little groups of twos or threes. I've no idea what she was doing there or what the connection was but it all seemed a bit strange.

"I felt sure it was going to kick off. One of them came up and asked me and one of the security staff I was talking to for a light for his cigarette. He was only about 13.

"I felt certain a fight was going to break out and the security guard I was talking to said their presence at the station was becoming a regular occurrence.

"He reckoned they were kids from Ilkley and Guiseley who were meeting up at the station for a fight at the weekend. I was quite surprised to see so many youths in gangs in sleepy Menston, it was quite worrying that these young kids were allowed out so late - where were their parents?"

The youngsters were moved on by police and dispersed into the village.

A spokesman for Northern Rail confirmed that gangs of youths had been meeting up at the station over the past month.

The spokesman said: "It has not been a long term problem but we have noticed it over the past few weeks and we are trying to raise the profile of the security teams we have so that they have a bigger presence at the station to deter people from hanging around.

"There is also CCTV in place to lessen the opportunity for anti-social behaviour.

"It is believed the gangs have been meeting there and fighting."