Police call on parents of trouble teenagers

TEENAGERS who went on a wrecking spree in North Tyneside received a nasty wake-up call from the council and Northumbria Police on Monday morning.

Members of the council’s Community Protection Team, backed up by Northumbria Police, visited 10 homes linked to recent incidents in North Shields and Tynemouth. The youngsters, aged 13-16, have all been stopped by the police for anti-social behaviour in the borough.

Now their parents have received a stark warning – ‘bring your children under control or face action’. The operation got under way at 7am, with officers calling at council-owned and private rented properties in Meadow Well and Wallsend.

Occupants were served legal action warnings due to the actions of the young people under their roof and three households received a ‘notice seeking possession’ which is the final warning a tenant receives before eviction proceedings begin.

It followed a series of incidents including the vandalism of the roof of Riley’s Fish Shack in Tynemouth and an attack on an ambulance crew responding to an emergency at The Parks Centre. In another incident, a shopping trolley was thrown on to Metro tracks which became wedged between Metro carriages and overhead cables and disrupted services.

The action was part of Operation Respect; a joint initiative between the council and police which aims to stamp out antisocial behaviour in parts of the borough.