A father who thought anti-social behaviour in his neighbourhood had died down fears it is on the rise again.

Ifzal Khan, 45, of Blackmore Road, Buckhurst Hill, had his garden hedge set on fire last year and spoke out about groups of youths vandalising the area and intimidating neighbours.

He said after a quiet period following the prosecution of a few ringleaders, the behaviour resurfaced again at about 8.30pm last night, when he claims he was racially abused.

He said: “I was watering the garden and my 10-year-old daughter was on the trampoline.

“There were two boys on the roof of one of the garages near the garden and three others on the green.

“They were shouting to one of the girls in the flats and using foul language.

“My daughter was upset, so I asked them to mind their language and get down, but they refused.

“I said I would phone the police and one said ‘go on then’, so I was on the mobile phone to the police and one of the boys looked towards me and shouted the p-word at the top of his voice.”

He said the youths ran off before the police arrived about 10 minutes later.

“I’m concerned,” he said. “I’ve been in Buckhurst Hill for about six years and we’ve had two rounds of trouble makers.

“I’ve not had that word shouted at me since the mid-1980s.”

He said some teenagers who had been hanging around in the area had been arrested last year, leading to a quiet summer.

Police ran extra patrols and stop-and-searches in the area last year.

A police spokeswoman said: “Police are investigating the incident and enquiries are ongoing.”

Sergeant Simon Dear, of Epping Forest neighbourhood policing team, said: “We take any reports of both racism and anti-social behaviour very seriously.

“The neighbourhood policing team are aware of this incident and the neighbourhood constable will be arranging a patrol strategy with local PCSOs and attention will be paid to the area.

“If anyone has any issues I would urge them to contact the neighbourhood policing team on 101.”