Wing mirrors were damaged on cars in the Holylands area on Halloween night. Picture by Bill Smyth

RESIDENTS in a mainly student area of Belfast have called for measures to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants accused of anti-social behaviour.

Many cars were left damaged in the Holylands area near Queen's University on Halloween night.

Some wing mirrors were struck with such force that they had detached, while windscreen wipers were also damaged.

Police were also called after a mattress was set on fire in Agincourt Avenue early on Tuesday, while a bonfire was also lit in the area last weekend.

It is understood that one letting agency has evicted tenants as a direct result of the disturbances.

While there were no arrests, police said that three people had been "dealt with" for public order offences, understood to be through community resolution notices.

Community resolution notices can be served on those who have been involved in anti-social behaviour or who have committed offences perceived as less serious.

Ray Farley, chair of the Holylands Regeneration Association, said residents are frustrated that anti-social behaviour "is ongoing every year".

"We really need the landlords to take action. We would like a common tenancy agreement that would make it easy to get rid of people, to exclude them from the area. It is a disgrace the state that the area is allowed to get into," he said.

"We simply accept the fact that we have bad behaviour on our streets. There is any amount of signs for drinking on the street and yet we find that there are very few prosecutions.

"At Halloween, we have young people running about drinking and shouting at the top of their voices.

"Freshers', Halloween and St Patrick's Day are the landmarks every year, but any week during term time there is excessive noise in the area," he added.