TERRIFIED residents living in a town where gangs of violent yobs rule the streets have complained they cannot talk about their nightmare problems.
Disgruntled residents in Pontypool, South Wales, say their home has been invaded by unruly thugs determined to make their lives miserable.
Terrified residents broke their silence despite pleas for discretion to avoid worsening their situation, describing a dire daily reality that had become unbearable.
Homeowners told of teenagers repeatedly breaking in and drinking all night outside their front doors, their bins being stolen and groups fighting outside their homes in the early hours of the morning.
Irritation turned to terror when they mentioned witnessing attacks against police officers and intra-group conflicts involving “bottles, pots and bars”.
They claimed the brave teenagers are even confrontational when approached by residents about their behaviour.
As a result of the abuse, one of the residents said that they have already decided to leave the city.
Meanwhile, another local says she’s repeatedly getting people to come out and fix the door to her block, which keeps coming through.
Gwent Police used dispersal orders, issued more than 20 anti-social behavior referrals for under-18s and made arrests for alleged assaults, assaults on emergency workers, obstructing police and a racially aggravated public order offence.
Cyra Gould, 28, a resident who lives above a high street shop with her young son, painted a grim picture of life in her town, describing it as “heartbreaking”.
After being forced to move due to a botched eviction, she now faces a daily battle with anti-social behaviour.
She said: “I am not exaggerating when I say I speak to the police every night of the week because of teenagers.
“They’re in town every night of the week drunk and on drugs.” Some of them are often really bad. I don’t know them personally.
“They usually kick in store windows. The Farmfoods window was broken the night before last.”
“Some of them I sometimes feel like they’re in real danger.”
Cyra details some of these experiences: “My front door to the block is constantly being kicked in. We had it fixed, they did it again, we had it fixed, they did it again.
“It never stops. Bang, bang, bang. I don’t know what their problem is with us. We can’t lock the door now.”
Cyra says that once they get to her block, they lie in the hallway all night drinking and “screaming and screaming.”
The mum added: “It got to the point where sometimes me and my partner would go outside and shout at them to get out and beg them, ‘There are children living here, please stop doing this.’
“We have a two-year-old child who is now petrified, standing at the door of our apartment.
“Basically, we’re not safe in our own home right now, and as a young mother, there’s no worse feeling.
“I always felt like me and my partner were big and ugly enough to take care of ourselves, but there’s 20 of these kids out there attacking officers, attacking each other, so they wouldn’t bother giving us anything they will say.” .”
‘REAL DANGER’
Cyra continued, “It’s completely ridiculous. I feel like my apartment is treated like a leisure center where anyone can come and sit and do whatever they like.
“This is my home, it’s not just a case of teenagers being rowdy in town – it’s serious.”
Gwent Police used a dispersal order in the town center from Sunday 30 June to Tuesday 2 July, which allowed officers to arrest people who failed to comply when asked to leave the area and not return for up to 48 hours.
But Mark Jones, who also lives above the high street store, said the order made no difference.
“People here are afraid to come out of their homes at night,” he said.
“The police here are always trying to get them to move on, but it’s still happening.” I’ve seen 30 of them here on the main street – mostly young men abusing each other.
“Sometimes it happens in front of the kids in the middle of the afternoon. Swearing is bad enough, fights and criminal damage aside.”
Mark said he would be moving out in the next four weeks, so he wasn’t afraid to raise issues in the area.
‘CONSTANT’ CHAOS
He continued: “I can handle the odd scrap outside the pub and disagreements and whatever, but these kids need to be stopped.
“Something really bad is going to happen. It’s just a matter of time. My biggest concern is if someone starts on me. One night I had four guys kicking at my door and trying to kick it out. That was Saturday night just gone.”
“It’s been really bad for the last six months. I’ve lived in scary places, but this is the worst place I’ve lived. It’s constant. It’s a lack of respect. It’s three, four times a night.
“One day they were throwing bottles, pots and sticks at each other. Some of them are adults.”
“I don’t know what’s causing the fighting or if it’s an organized thing, but it’s constant.
I’ve lived in scary places, but this is the worst place I’ve lived. It’s constant.”
Mark Jones
Jonathan Watson, 28, said he was also trying to leave the area because of the incidents. “The door has just been kicked in again. My dad rigged the doors makeshift so we could close them, but they managed to kick through each one.
“What good is it if they move on if they come back and destroy property?” They caused a lot of damage in the city.
“It’s hard for us to find anywhere else that we can afford, but we’d like to leave. They are always forced to leave town, but they always come back.
“They’re stealing from Tesco blind – they’re stealing alcohol I imagine. I don’t know how we can expect Pontypool to start improving if the community in the town doesn’t feel protected.”
Lee Stachow, Gwent City Police Inspector for Torfaen, said: “We are aware of reports of anti-social behavior in Pontypool and in particular in the town center over the last few weeks.
“Antisocial behavior and any offenses associated with it is completely unacceptable and we understand the distress it causes our residents.
“We are committed to doing all we can, together with our partners and members of the public, to make Pontypool a place where people not only feel safe, but can feel proud and enjoy their community.
“We have recently issued dispersal orders which can be re-imposed if necessary and have an increased police presence in the area.
“When it comes to anti-social behaviour, we are not only guided by information gathered during investigations and patrols, but also information provided by members of the public through their reports.
“I urge residents and businesses to continue to report incidents of anti-social behavior to us, but beyond that I urge those who call or text us to go beyond just reporting but also provide a statement, produce CCTV to support us in action. against those who bring misfortune to our community.
“Our message is clear: this kind of behavior will not be tolerated and with your help, those found responsible will be dealt with appropriately.”