MARGARET Baillie can trace her links with Limerigg back to 1840. For five generations her family have lived in the village by the Black Loch, near Falkirk - miners, builders, and even a church choirmaster.

Mrs Baillie, now 75, was born and brought up in the village until eight years ago when, she says, she was driven from her home after a concerted campaign of abuse and harassment.

Her once idyllic home town is now described as Scotland's ''village from hell''.

The problems began more than 20 years ago, she says, with blame attached to three or four so-called problem families. In 1972, a petition was circulated complaining about the situation but little was done and their numbers grew as relatives moved in to the increasing number of empty properties. Now they comprise up to 10% of the town's population of 200. Incidents of harassment and intimidation, damage to properties, and even claims of physical violence, were left unpunished because witnesses were too scared to give evidence in court, according to the area's MP, Michael Connarty.

In an attempt to tackle what Mrs Baillie has known for 25 years, a working group involving Falkirk Council, Central Scotland Police, and a number of other agencies last night presented a draft action programme to the local community.

In an echo of yesterday's Government announcement that more must be done to tackle anti-social neighbours, residents were presented with a number of measures aimed at revitalising the town. Of the 100 or so houses, 58 are council-owned, 24 have been boarded up, and eight demolished. The primary school roll is falling and the town's one pub shut down six years ago.

Councillor David Speirs says the action plan is ''second to none'', better than anything seen before in Scotland. It admits ''serious social problems'' in Limerigg have ''now reached a critical point''. It aims to tackle anti-social behaviour, re-build confidence and make the town a ''decent, safe and attractive place to live in''.

Measures include the introduction of closed circuit television cameras, the appointment of a full-time community co-ordinator to live locally and oversee regeneration, increased policing, the refurbishment of all empty houses, and the launch of a confidential helpline.

The meeting was held behind closed doors - an indication of the fear factor - but some of the 30 or so people who turned up spoke afterwards. Janice Grant, 46, a nursing auxiliary in Falkirk, has lived all her life in the village. She said the action plan did not go far enough. She said the only solution was to bulldoze the empty houses and instal a 24-hour police presence.

Councillor Speirs said it had been a useful meeting with some positive suggestions from villagers. Mr Connarty, MP for Falkirk East, wishes the working group every success but is convinced stronger measures are needed.

Mr Connarty, who coined the phrase ''village from hell'', raised the matter in the Commons with Prime Minister Tony Blair last week. He said more should be done to protect witnesses. The Crime and Disorder Bill is due to pass through Parliament at the end of the year. Mrs Baillie is not convinced by the proposed action plan. The new house she was given in 1953, at the height of post-war optimism, is now in ruins. She has no plans to return to her roots.

''It used to be an idyllic place where everyone helped everybody else, it's heartbreaking to see what's happened. All this has been stirred up again, but there will be a whitewash again, just like happened in the past. It is the decent people who live in Limerigg that will be left to suffer. No action plan will work until certain people have left, because they can't live amongst decent people. Limerigg is dying, I only hope it's not dead before me. The way things are going I think it might be.''