We’re living in fear of yobs, say shopkeepers
BUSINESS OWNERS PLEAD WITH POLICE FOR HELP AS GANG OF YOUNGSTERS TERRORISES LEAFY SUBURB
A GANG of ‘out-of-control’ yobs are terrorising shop owners in a leafy south Manchester suburb, leaving them in fear of their safety and livelihoods.
Members of the close-knit business community on Burton Road in West Didsbury say they have reached desperation point and have pleaded with police for help.
A gang, reportedly comprising up to eight youths – some believed to be of school age – has targeted numerous independent retailers over the past 12 months.
Thugs have smashed shop windows and stolen stock, costing businesses thousands of pounds.
In one incident last Tuesday, Riley Taylor, owner of dog-grooming spa Urbanpaw, was punched in the face and ribs as he tried to stop a group of hooded youths from killing his therapy dog.
Shop owners and councillors are now calling for a greater police presence in the area to deter the ‘out-of-control’ thugs.
GMP insists extra officers are patrolling the street.
Riley, 33, said: “It’s been going on for a long time, but nothing has been done about it. These thugs think they are untouchable and keep coming back.
“There are a lot of small businesses on the road and young women working on their own.
“I was shutting my shop and there was a group of hooded youths threatening to stab my therapy dog, Olive. They started charging at my shop and were trying to grab my dog. It was horrific. There were about eight or nine of them and I was punched in the face and ribs. They then smashed the front window before running off.”
Police arrived around 10 minutes after the incident, at around 4.45pm, and Riley was taken to A&E with bruising and bleeding to his ear.
Leeander Garside, 31, from Chorlton, who has run another business on the Burton Road for six years, said shop owners are ‘terrified.’ “They are out of control,” she said. “I’m living in fear. I’m worried I could be the next target. We have had no police come around at all.”
Didsbury West councillor David Ellison said the incidents have ‘escalated’ in recent days and has called for more police action.
He said: “Officers need to be there to catch the perpetrators in the act.”
Police confirmed they are investigating the incident at Urbanpaw. Inspector Shoheb Chowdhury, of GMP’s City of Manchester team, said: “This was a nasty attack that will understandably cause concern among local shopkeepers and residents.
“We have a dedicated team working on a comprehensive investigation and have also stepped up patrols in the area.
“It happened on a busy street in the early evening when lots of people would have been around and seen something.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101.