FEARFUL residents of a city where gangs of violent street thugs rule the streets complain they are unable to talk about their terrible problems.
Disgruntled residents of Pontypool, South Wales, say their homes have been overrun by unruly criminals looking to make their lives miserable.
Frightened residents have broken their silence, despite pleas for discretion to not exacerbate their deteriorating situation, describing a horrific daily reality that has become unbearable.
Homeowners have told of teenagers repeatedly breaking in and drinking outside their front doors all night, their trash cans being stolen and groups of people fighting outside their homes in the early hours of the morning.
Their irritation turned to fear when they told of witnessing fights with police officers and conflicts within the group involving “bottles, pans and bars.”
They claimed that the brash teenagers even became confrontational when residents confronted them about their behavior.
A resident has decided to leave the city because of the abuse.
Meanwhile, another local resident says she repeatedly asks people to fix the door on her block, only to have it fail again and again.
Gwent Police have issued eviction notices, made more than 20 reports of anti-social behaviour against under-18s and made arrests for alleged assaults, attacks on emergency workers, obstructing police and a racially aggravated public order offence.
Cyra Gould, 28, a resident who lives with her young son above a shop on the high street, paints a bleak picture of life in her town, describing it as “heartbreaking”.
After being forced to move because she was evicted through no fault of her own, she now struggles with antisocial behavior on a daily basis.
She said: “I’m not exaggerating when I say I talk to the police every night of the week about teenagers.
“They’re out on the town every night of the week, drinking and doing drugs. Some of them are often in really bad shape. I don’t know them personally.
“Usually they kick the shutters of the shop in. The night before last the window of Farmfoods was smashed.
“Some of them are really in danger with me at times.”
Cyra shared some of those experiences: “My front door to the block is constantly being knocked through. We had it repaired, they redid it, we had it repaired, they redid it.
“It never stops. Bang, bang, bang. I don’t know what their problem is with us. We can’t lock the door now.”
Cyra says that once they enter her block, they lie in the hallway all night drinking and “yelling and shouting.”
The mother added: “It’s gotten so bad that sometimes my partner and I have gone outside and shouted at them to go away and begged them, ‘Children live here, please stop doing this.’
“We have a two-year-old who is terrified of standing at our apartment door.
“We’re just not safe in our own home right now. As a young mother, there’s no worse feeling than that.
“I always thought my partner and I were big and ugly enough to take care of ourselves, but there are 20 of these kids outside and they’re attacking officers, they’re attacking each other, so they wouldn’t think twice about telling us anything.”
‘REAL DANGER’
Cyra continued: “It’s completely ridiculous. I feel like my apartment is being treated like a recreation center where anyone can come in, sit down and do whatever they want.
“This is my home, it’s not just a matter of noisy teenagers in a city – it’s serious.”
Gwent Police operated a city centre evacuation order from Sunday 30th June until Tuesday 2nd July, allowing officers to arrest people who were not complying with the rules and asking them to leave the area and not return for up to 48 hours.
But Mark Jones, who also lives above a shop on the high street, said the measure made little difference.
“People here are afraid to leave their homes at night,” he said.
“The police are constantly out here trying to get them out, but it keeps happening. I’ve seen 30 of them on the street, mostly young people abusing each other.
“Sometimes it happens in the middle of the afternoon in front of children. The swearing is bad enough, let alone the fighting and criminal damage.”
Mark said he was moving within four weeks and that he was therefore not afraid to address the problems in the neighborhood.
‘CONSTANT’ CHAOS
He continued: “I can handle the occasional fight outside the pub, disagreements and whatnot, but these kids have to be stopped.
“Something really bad is going to happen. It’s just a matter of time. My biggest concern is if someone comes at me. The other night four guys kicked my door to knock it down. That was Saturday night, just over.
“It’s gotten really bad in the last six months. I’ve lived in some scary places, but this is the worst place I’ve ever lived. It’s relentless. It’s disrespectful. It’s three, four times a night.
“Last time they threw bottles, pots and candy bars at each other. Some of them are adults.
“I don’t know what causes the fighting or whether it’s an organised affair, but it’s happening all the time.”
I’ve lived in some scary places, but this is the worst place I’ve ever lived. It’s non-stop.”
Mark Jones
Jonathan Watson, 28, said he also wanted to leave the area because of the incidents. “The door has just been kicked in again. My dad did temporary repairs on the door so we could close it, but they managed to kick them all in.
“What’s the point of continuing if they come back and destroy property? They’ve caused so much damage to the city.
“It’s hard for us to find an affordable place somewhere else, but we’d like to leave. They’re always getting kicked out of the city, but they always come back.
“They’re stealing Tesco blind – stealing alcohol I think, judging by their appearance. I don’t know how we can expect Pontypool to improve if the community doesn’t feel protected in the town.”
Lee Stachow, Gwent Police’s District Inspector for Torfaen, said: “We are aware of reports of anti-social behaviour in Pontypool and particularly in the town centre in recent weeks.
“Antisocial behaviour and all related violations are completely unacceptable and we understand the inconvenience this causes to our residents.
“We are committed to doing what we can, together with our partners and the public, to make Pontypool a place where people not only feel safe, but can also take pride in and enjoy their community.
“We have recently issued dispersal orders, which can be re-instated if necessary, and we have increased police presence in the area.
“When it comes to antisocial behaviour, we rely not only on information we gather during investigations and patrols, but also on information provided to us by the public through reports.
“I encourage residents and businesses to continue to report incidents of antisocial behaviour to us. However, I would particularly urge those who call or message to do more than just report. They should also provide statements and attach CCTV footage to support our campaign against those who cause misery in our community.
“Our message is clear: such behavior will not be tolerated and with your help those responsible will be dealt with appropriately.”