Police in Kingston will enforce a dispersal zone in the town centre this weekend after complaints of violence from business owners.

The announcement was made by Kingston Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and posted to micro-blogging site Twitter today (May 2).

Police said they had decided to enact the stricter policing rules to combat violence and drug supply in Kingston town centre.

The dispersal zone will be enforced from tomorrow evening (May 3) at 9pm.

It will last for the nights of Friday, May 3 and Saturday May 4, police said, and cover the vicinity of Grove ward (pictured) in town.

On Twitter, a spokesperson for Kingston MPS offered further details: "On Fri 3rd and Sat 4th May, a dispersal zone will be in place from 21:00-06:00 in #Kingston town centre (@MPSGrove) under S35 ASB, Crime & Policing Act 2014.

"It means officers can direct individuals to leave the area during this time with restrictions to not to return for 48hrs," Kingston MPS said.

In another post, the borough MPS added that the dispersal measure was decided on after business owners had aired concerns about anti-social behaviour in the area during the evenings and early hours.

Kingston MPS said: "The S35 dispersal power has been authorised in order to provide officers with options in targeting violence and drug supply, in response to concerns raised by businesses who operate in the NTE (Night-Time Economy)."

The Met Police were contacted for further comment.