A COMMUNITY has been battling a rising amount of anti-social behaviour occurring in its parks and streets on a daily basis.
The town of Crook, in County Durham, has been terrorised by groups of up to 50 youths over the last few weeks.
The youths have been intimidating passers-by, throwing stones at cars, and smashing windows.
Business owners near Crook Market Place have complained that their windows have been egged.
The windows of the bus shelter have also been targeted.
Glenholme Park has suffered significant damage with the park benches having to be taken out due to vandalism.
The most recent target is the Bowling Green Clubhouse which has had nine windows smashed.
The incident is reported to have happened sometime between Monday, October 19 and Tuesday, October 20.
Trees have been torched and painted by the youths and bottle caps have been embedded in the ground.
The neighbouring residential home, Parklands Care Home, has made complaints about the noise and the disturbance in the park.
On top of the incidents at Glenholme Park, police are investigating abuse towards Lidl staff from youths which has occurred over the last few weeks.
CCTV footage from the entrance has been handed to the police following the complaints of verbal abuse directed at both customers and staff.
The youths were asked to vacate the store following anti-social behaviour.
A spokesperson for Durham Police said: “Officers are continuing to engage and maintain contact with local council wardens and are increasing patrols in the problem areas particularly at night-time.
“We’d encourage parents to know where their child is as the dark nights draw in and encourage them to follow the regulations in place for our region.”
Durham County Council insists it is improving facilities for young people in Crook.
Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “We are aware of reports of incidents of anti-social behaviour involving young people in parts of Crook.
“We are working very closely with Durham Constabulary in responding to these reports and identifying known offenders, and our neighbourhood wardens will continue to carry out patrols in the affected area.
“We would encourage parents to work with us by ensuring their children are observing restrictions and to speak to them if they suspect they are involved in anti-social behaviour.
“We would also ask anyone with information on any such incidents to report it to police on the 101 non-emergency number.”
The County Council and its 3 Towns Area Action Partnership (AAP) have invested significantly in youth provision in Crook.
A full refurbishment of the skate park at Glenholme Park was carried out following a meeting with users.
Work will also be starting on a new play area for under 12s at the park and a new cycle way, scheduled to begin in December.
The behaviour has caught the attention of the local MP, Richard Holden who said: “Anti-social behaviour blights people’s lives and can have a dramatic and horrible effect on people’s mental health.
“It’s vital that the extra resources that the Government is providing, 70 extra officers for County Durham this year, rising to over 220 in a couple of years’ times are focused on the issues affecting local communities.
“It is vital that extra and existing police are out in our communities as much as possible, providing the support people need.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel