A new order put in place to protect wildlife will come into force in May to give the Royal Borough and police more powers to tackle anti-social behaviour.
A public space protection order (PSPO) restricting people from carrying catapults or slingshots with stones, pellets or ball bearings will come into force on May 11, a cabinet meeting herd yesterday (Tuesday).
It will make it an offence to carry a catapult or any other devices capable of launching projectiles where these are likely to cause harm to people, animals or property.

The PSPO will cover Old Windsor, Eton and Castle ward, including central Windsor, Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury.

Royal Borough councillors were on board with implementing the public space protection order.

This follows a ‘significant rise’ in catapults being used antisocially, with reports of wildlife being killed or injured, damage to properties and concerns over public safety, a report presented to councillors said.

Cllr Richard Coe (Lib Dem, Riverside) explained that to be able to create a PSPO, there first needs to be ‘demonstrable evidence’ to show there is a problem with anti-social behaviour.

He said the council was ‘rescued’ by wildlife charities, in particular Swan Support, which had been logging incidents of attacks on wildlife, and this gave the evidence needed to create the PSPO.

Cllr Coe added: “As a Liberal, it’s very sad to be restricting people’s freedoms. It would be much better if people didn’t behave in an anti-social way in the first place.