An online petition which calls on Police Scotland to make the streets of Govanhill safer has been signed by more than 1000 people.

Residents’ group ‘Let’s Save Govanhill’ is currently campaigning for a crackdown on criminals in the south side community.

They held a public meeting attended by more than 150 locals on June 23 and organised a march to local MSP and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s constituency office earlier in the year.

The online petition launched last week, which claims “the streets are no longer a safe place to walk”, has now been supported by around 1,100 people.

The Let’s Save Govanhill group is also planning another march, this time from Govanhill Park to Aikenhead Road police station.

The group had hoped to hold the demonstration on August 1 but Glasgow City Council blocked the plans and a new date will be set when the local authority gives the green light.

Secretary of Let’s Save Govanhill, Fiona Jordan, said: “The council’s processions officer called me and said our date had not given the council enough notice.

“We are trying to control the tempers of angry residents by organising this march, otherwise there is potential for unrest on the streets.

“If our march is given permission it will be controlled and regulated. We will have elderly folk participating, which is why we want to comply with process. The safety of our marchers is top priority.”

Chief Inspector Carol McGuire, Area Commander for Glasgow South East, said last week that her officers are “working hard” to deal with problems in Govanhill.

“We know that crime and antisocial behaviour can impact negatively on local communities and we use several tactics to combat these issues, such as high visibility patrols and targeting known offenders,” she added.

“We are committed to keeping people safe and continue to work with our partner agencies to ensure we are providing the most effective service to local people - they can be assured that we will do all we can to make life better for everyone.”

The petition which calls on police to “make the streets of Govanhill safer, treat all residents the same and stop gangs of men standing in corners and intimidating our pensioners and other residents” can be found at change.org.