PARENTS are being urged to "get a grip of their children" after the custody area at Skipton Police station run out of cells on Friday night because of the number of youths arrested.

During three separate incidents 13 young people aged between 15 and 21 were arrested in the town centre and detained.

As there are only six cells at Skipton Police Station, the custody area had to be closed and four of the detainees had to be transferred to Harrogate.

Sergeant Will Scarlett said it was unusual for so many people to be arrested at once and he could not remember the last time the cells were at maximum capacity.

The arrests resulted from three incidents which Sgt Scarlett claimed had all been fuelled by too much alcohol.

He said there was evidence that youths as young as 15 had been drinking in Skipton Bus Station during the evening.

At 11pm police received a complaint that someone had been assaulted in the bus station. Two males were arrested.

Half an hour later officers received a number of calls from residents on Duckett Street and Westmoreland Street.

They said a large number of youths were causing damage to vehicles parked in the area. Wing mirrors were broken, aerials were bent and body panels were dented.

Seven youths aged between 15 and 17 were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

At 1am an officer taking statements from witnesses in Duckett Street heard a noisy group of young people walking along the street. Four males aged between 18 and 21 were arrested on suspicion of damaging a car.

A number of people have been interviewed about the incidents and released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Insp Tad Nowakowski said: "I urge all parents to get a grip of their children. They should take more responsibility for knowing where they are on a Friday night."

He added that there were many more youths on the streets, unsupervised and consuming large quantities of alcohol who were not brought in to the police station.

And Insp Nowakowski warned that if the situation was allowed to continue, it could get out of control.

He added that officers would be patrolling the areas where youngsters were drinking and would be on the look out for crimes being committed by them.

Insp Nowakowski added that not only did parents need to keep a closer eye on their children but the youngsters themselves needed to take more responsibility for their actions.

He said youths were crying out to be treated like adults but many did not act like one.