Plea for gang to end campaign of terror on ‘quiet’ street
SOME RESIDENTS ARE IN FEAR OF TAKING THEIR KIDS TO SCHOOL
RESIDENTS living in fear on a Hull street at the hands of a knife-wielding gang have made a desperate plea for them to stop their campaign of terror.
Those living in New George Street have joined forces and issued the plea for the crime to stop.
Since December, people living in the street and surrounding area have repeatedly had the tyres on their cars slashed by a group of men, aged around 18.
The residents estimate that 37 cars have been vandalised and that, despite police being made aware, the perpetrators keep returning on a nightly basis.
Some have struggled to take their kids to school or go to work due to the damages, while others are too frightened to park their cars in the area altogether.
Those that live on New George Street sing the praises of the area and are fond of their neighbours and the community, but now fear for their own safety.
The recent slashings started on May 19 in the early hours of the morning, but it isn’t the first time this has been an issue for some residents.
The New George Street tenants spotted three young men on the street popping the tyres at around 2am.
Sallah, a taxi driver who lives on the street, saw the boys and said: “I saw them down on the pavement with a knife popping the tyres. I then looked down the street and saw that nearly all of the cars on the street had flat tyres.
“I chased after them to Jubilee Square while others called the police, but they were armed. The police didn’t arrive for another 40 minutes, even though we told them that they had weapons.”
The residents estimate that thousands of pounds worth of damage was done to the cars on the street and hoped that their CCTV footage would be enough to catch the boys. However, the tormentors returned again the next night to cause more havoc.
Molly Bell is another resident who fears for the safety of her neighbours.
She said: “I first had my tyres slashed in December last year and I thought it was personal because other cars hadn’t been vandalised at that point. I had them replaced and the same thing happened in February, then more recently I’ve had two tyres popped in May.
“It got to the point where I was too scared to park my car outside my house so would take it to my family member’s house in Willerby.”
The Tyre Shop, a business located around the corner from New George Street, confirmed that they had had at least seven or eight residents come into the shop for tyre repairs. On police advice, they gave receipts to the customers to keep track of how many people have been affected.
A Humberside Police spokesman said: “Investigations are underway following reports that a number of tyres were damaged on vehicles down New George Street in Hull early on the morning of Thursday, May 19. It was reported that three men travelled down the street damaging tyres with a knife.
“They were challenged by a car owner and reportedly fled the area. Officers were deployed and carried out a full and thorough search of the area however the suspects were not located.”
Anyone with information call 101 quoting log 44 of May 19 or anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”