Teenagers in bid to make their streets safer
TEENAGERS from a housing estate in Gateshead where a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death are campaigning for street lights.
Leighton Amies, 15, stabbed Tomasz Oleszak with a knife on the Springwell Estate. Tomasz, who lived in the area with his family, was rushed to hospital where he died in October last year.
Amies, of Stuart Terrace, Felling, Gateshead, denied murdering Tomasz, claiming he was acting in self-defence after coming under attack.
However a jury at Newcastle Crown Court convicted him of murdering Tomasz and attempting to cause GBH with intent on another boy. He will be sentenced at the court in Newcastle next month.
Tomasz’s death shocked the local community and left those living on the Springwell Estate with an overwhelming feeling of sadness.
A vigil and charity football matches were held in the youngster’s memory and his family and friends began calling for an end to knife crime.
Young people in the area are now campaigning for street lights to be introduced on the pathway where Tomasz was killed, which is known locally as the lines.
They are campaigning for the change with the help of Youth Focus: North East. The aim is to make people feel safer and deter crime in the area.
Rebecca Harrop, 25, programme manager for Youth Focus: North East, said: “They’ve just been absolutely amazing, it’s all come from them. The street light campaign is something they are really passionate about.
“That’s the area where Tom was killed and there was no street lights there. In their eyes, if they had lights it would have deterred any crime from happening.
“It is used by the whole community and it’s really dark. They feel it’s a prime location for crime to happen.
“A lot of the young people who live on the estate were there that night and witnessed it so that trauma is still there for them.
“Having that feeling of safety, through the lights, will not solve crime but it will deter people and make the people living in that community feel a sense of security.”
Youth Focus: North East began working with young people on the estate following Tomasz’s death.
Rebecca, who lives in Gateshead, said: “We feel there was a real need for youth work provision. They were hanging around on the streets. There was nothing for them to go and do there.
“We found funding for a social action project. We said ‘We have got this pot of money, we want to do something good.’
“One of first things they said was ‘Can you pay for street lights on the lines?’ We said we can’t buy street lights but we can campaign for it.
“They just want to make a positive difference after something so awful.
“Everybody that we have spoken to is really supportive.
“They said they’ve been trying to get lights there for years and nobody listens.”
The petition needs 2,000 signatures by June 15 in order to be considered by Gateshead Council. More than 530 people have already signed the petition.
Leftover money is being used to create a community garden with a
They want to make a positive difference after something so awful. Rebecca Harrop
bench in memory of Tomasz. It will be located next to the community centre on the Springwell Estate.
Rebecca added: “We have got a bench and they are doing up the garden. We’re going to make it nice so they have a safe space to go to remember anyone they want, but mainly Tom.”