Marauding youths terrorising town face ‘tough action’
A GANG of marauding youths who have terrorised a town centre can expect a tough response, a council boss has vowed.
A partially-blind man was punched to the ground before a group of around 15 boys kicked him while he lay defenceless outside a pub in Eccles in Salford.
As reported in the M.E.N., the attack on Paul Gibson, 56, was the latest in a series of incidents involving gangs of youths who are making residents’ lives a nightmare in the town.
Council bosses working with GMP say many of those involved have been identified. Those who have committed criminal acts will face arrest and police action.
The council is due to issue several teenagers with civil injunctions and acceptable behaviour agreements (ABA).
A civil injunction sets a clear standard of behaviour, stopping a person’s behaviour from escalating and potentially preventing them from entering Eccles town centre.
An ABA is a written agreement for the young person to behave better, with support from the youth offending service. If broken the young person could face legal action.
Coun David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, said: “Most young people in Salford are not involved in crime and anti-social behaviour and it is a shame when a small minority tarnish their reputation and that of their community by behaving badly.
“The problems have been caused partly by youths coming into the area from other parts of Salford and partly by youths who live in the area.
“We’ve been able to identify many of the group so we are working with the police to take action but we do need parents to back us and talk to their teenagers about responsible behaviour towards their community.”
Coun Lisa Stone, lead member for children’s and young people’s services and local ward councillor said the town hall provides youth activities every night Monday to Friday as well as activities run by community groups. There are plenty of positive things to do in the area and if young people want to just hang out in public places they can do that without causing trouble.
“Our youth workers, who run the Friday night youth club in Eccles as well as regular street work, have spoken to young people warning them about the consequences of being involved in anti-social behaviour and trying to find out if there are underlying issues, such as problems at home, which might have triggered this sudden outburst.
“That’s not to excuse their behaviour nor to say they won’t face consequences but if we understand what’s going on in a young person’s life we can help them avoid continuing on the wrong path.
“We’ve also added an extra night of street work to make contact with the young people involved in the group. We’re getting the message across that they are damaging their own community by acting like this as well as risking getting themselves a criminal record with all the problems that brings later in life.
“The council and local people have put a lot of work into regenerating Eccles and we won’t stand by and see a minority undo all that good work.”