‘Control your kids or lose your homes’
THE parents of a gang of teenage yobs causing havoc in their own town have been warned they could lose their homes if they don’t bring their kids under control.
For months now Partington in Trafford has been plagued by antisocial behaviour.
People have been attacked, others intimidated as they try to do their shopping, and property damaged and vandalised.
Last weekend, a security guard at Tesco Express at Partington Shopping Centre was subjected to a tirade of racial abuse after escorting the troublemakers from the store. There have also been incidents around the shops on Oak Road, and the Tulip Road flats.
Police, along with council and housing bosses, say they are working together to combat the problem.
They have a ‘range of powers’ at their disposal - including eviction, as a last resort.
Pc Mike Jones is one of the officers covering the area. He said that the gang is a mix of girls and boys, all aged between 13 and 16.
“It is just a small minority of local kids causing the trouble,” he stressed. “The majority of the teenagers living around here are well behaved, but these ones hang around in groups, intimidating people. The incident last weekend, the group tried to enter the Tesco and had to be escorted out by security.
“That’s when they turned nasty, shouting abuse and racist comments towards the security guard. If they are approached or challenged then they become disorderly.”
Pc Jones said it tends to be the same familiar faces involved in the trouble.
He added: “Sometimes the group can be as few as seven, other times it can double to around 15.
“As well as Tesco and Heron Foods, they hang around the Oak Road shops and flats on Tulip Road – basically wherever they feel like they want to go.
“There have been incidents of criminal damage and vandalism linked to the group.
“There have also been a number of assaults, the victims of which have mainly been other youths.”
Pc Jones said that despite this, there had been no reports of shoplifting or robbery, and that none of the incidents involved weapons.
GMP Trafford posted about the Tesco incident on social media.
It said: “Groups of youths are causing issues and being extremely abusive towards staff, which is causing them harassment, alarm and distress. Pc Jones is now working with staff, Your Housing Group and Trafford Borough Council and is in the process of collating all the evidence.
“If your child is found to be causing issues or committing criminal offences, you could face being evicted from your home.”
A spokesman for Your Housing Group said housing officers are also trying to encourage the youths to get involved in activities in the community. Trafford council said that it was working with police to ‘compile and review evidence.’ A spokesman said: “The council is working with GMP and the housing provider in Partington in relation to complaints of antisocial behaviour reported outside Tesco in Partington. We are working with the police to compile and review the evidence, and will then decide whether legal action is appropriate.”