PLANS to block off a private estate and public right of way to "riff-raff" have been approved by councillors.

At an Area Two Committee meeting last night, Woodford Green representatives rubber stamped the proposals, which will see access gates surrounding Tamar Square locked between 8pm and 8am.

Residents will be given special keys to get in and out.

Households on the estate, off Charteris Road, have been campaigning for over three years for the gating order, arguing anti-social "yobs" and "tramps" were making their lives a misery.

But some have hit back at the plans, amid fears anti-social behaviour and crime could be displaced to other areas of Woodford Green.

The gating order is valid for one year, after which the council will review the scheme to decide whether to continue with it.