Roaming gangs are menacing residents

ALL QUIET. . . But Councillor Steve Bashforth says the park attracts hundreds of trouble-making youths on Friday and Saturday nights

DESPERATE householders in Heyside have spoken out against gangs of youths who are spreading misery in their neighbourhood.

Fed-up residents around the Blackshaw Lane area say they are regularly confronted with groups of up to 100 youths, who knock on their windows and doors.

And a local councillor says that parents are even dropping off their chuldren in the area with bags of alcohol.

The residents are hoping that tonight’s Hallowe’en celebrations don’t bring yet more trouble to their streets.

One resident of Blackshaw Lane, who did not wish to be named, said that she had even had to move her twins out of their bedroom at the front of the house because youths had scrambled on to her shed roof next to her children’s window.

She said: “Gangs of up to 200 youngsters gather in Bullcote Park and come down our road, knocking on doors on their way down. We have a little porch at the front of our house and I have found youngsters standing in there smoking. They also sit on my front wall and have walked straight across my garden.

“The people who turn up are from all over town. It’s very intimidating. It’s got to the stage where we dread every Friday night and my husband has taken tonight off work especially, just to make sure that me and the children are safe.”

Ward councillor Steve Bashforth is appealing to the parents of the young people to step up and show some responsibility.

He said: “The situation in Heyside is just unbelievable. It’s a total menace to the people in the area and people are getting so fed up with the situation that they’re considering installing CCTV to record what’s happening. But I’m concerned that this might give rise to a potentially dangerous confrontation.

“These youngsters aren’t bad, but the size of the crowd is attracting people who want to cause trouble and I have seen drugs being sold out of cars to some of the young people.

“Some of the parents actually drop their children off in Heyside with bags of alcohol and I would ask them how they would feel if they had to live with 100 teenagers roaming around outside their house.

“Many of them are drinking alcohol when they are under age and this leaves them extremely vulnerable. One resident even found two girls asleep on his front garden and had to call an ambulance for them.

“People are just at their wit’s end and it’s about time the parents stepped in.”

Insp Colette Rose said: “The youths in Royton are not so much involved in anti-social behaviour, but it’s more the annoyance that they create by congregating in such large numbers.

“We are aware that parents are adding to the problem by dropping off large numbers of children at the site and we would urge them to find something else for their children to do.
“We have been putting extra staff on and have number of operations lined up for the area.
“The children are not engaged in criminal activity as such, but it is the sheer number of them which is causing a problem.

“We have found some drunken youths, but as a whole they are not under the influence of alcohol.

“I would dispute that any drug taking or drug dealing has been going on there. We have certainly not seen any evidence of that.”