Hackney Council is taking legal action to temporarily ban drinking in London Fields Park after high levels of antisocial behaviour.

The council is seeking the injunction after receiving numerous complaints about loud music, drunken behaviour, littering and public urination and defecation.

If granted, the injunction will give the police the power to arrest people for consuming alcohol, leaving litter, playing loud music, using laughing gas, damaging wildlife, driving vehicles or using generators in the park.

Philip Glanville, mayor of Hackney, said: 'It’s incredibly frustrating that this is costing the council so much to manage, when this money could be better spent on our other parks or vital support for local residents, like food distribution to vulnerable people or services for young people.

'We have already put extensive measures in place to try to tackle the issues but we are being left with no option but to apply for this temporary alcohol ban while we consider how to manage the situation in London Fields in the long-term.'

In May and June, the council issued nearly 200 fines for urinating and littering in the park, compared to just nine in the previous 12 months.