Don't let yobs win (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Don't let yobs win

2:05pm Thursday 19th October 2006 in News

AN irate Tewkesbury couple are calling on local people to stand up to the yobs they say are making parts of the town into no-go areas.

Steve and Sheila Lacey say police operations to clamp down have simply moved the problem from one place to another

The latest area to be targeted is The Maltings, the sheltered housing complex Mr Lacey manages and where they both live.

Residents are being terrified and their lives made a misery by the gangs of youths who gather there most evenings.

The youngsters press their faces against ground floor windows, shout abuse and have damaged garages by repeatedly kicking a football at them. They are also drinking and smoking, leaving the area littered with cans and cigarette ends.

One elderly resident was terrified when a youngster peered into the window of her first floor flat, after climbing on the garage roof.

Mr Lacey said: "The latest crackdown has simply shifted large numbers of youths intent on mischief to a very vulnerable part of the town.

"What is needed is a long-term solution, finding them somewhere to gather, not just moving them on."

The Laceys are concerned that people are so worried about their own safety that they are not standing up to the youngsters, and are urging everyone to make a concerted effort.

"Tewkesbury people marched in their hundreds to save our special school, our local hospital and our Crescent," said Mr Lacey.

"Now it's time to save our streets.

"Let us hear your voice. For once, drown out the yells and screams of the booze-filled yob element."

Inspector Brian Murnaghan, of Tewkesbury police, has contacted the couple and says he will be visiting them to discuss the problems.