Gangs of youths causing chaos on Wigan estate

Groups of youngsters are accused of vandalising cars and homes, aggressively abusing passers-by and neighbours and even trashing the CCTV cameras set up to catch wrong-doers.

Some residents are now scared to visit local shops after dark and youngsters who are clearly under-age are walking the streets swigging from bottles of beer, it has also been claimed.

The resident, who asked not to be identified due to fear of reprisals, says the problem is concentrated around the Norley Hall Avenue, Lamberhead Road and Thorburn Road area and believes it is getting worse.

However, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have arrested two youths on suspicion of a number of offences and they will be in court next week.

The resident said: “It has certainly escalated over the last couple of months.

“It’s getting to the stage where people who would normally walk to the shops on Norley Hall Avenue in the evening don’t do it any more. These youngsters put people in fear.

“There are quite a few elderly or infirm people living round here and they are being confronted by these gangs.

“They maraud up and down Thorburn Road shouting and bawling. They usually seem under the influence of alcohol and I have seen them with beer bottles in their hands and then throwing them into the air and then running when the glass goes everywhere.

“I know pet dogs have had to be taken to the vet to have paws stitched up. I would like to know where they are getting the alcohol from.

“I was speaking to someone at the play centre who said last weekend nine vehicles were vandalised in the space of two nights, and just before Christmas a car broke down on Thorburn Road and it got ransacked.

“I also know someone who has had both a small glass panel and a large window at the front of his house smashed within a few weeks.

“Even the CCTV system in the playground area on Lamberhead Road has been vandalised. They know the system is there so climb up on top of the shed, climb the post and smash the camera.

“Youngsters are still riding around on motorbikes and quad bikes as well.

“We seem to be going backwards. There’s little or no respect for anybody or their property.”

However, GMP has managed to act after receiving a flood of complaints and allegations from the area between December 26 and January 14.

A 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy were apprehended by police officers and charged with several offences.

They will appear at Wigan Youth Court next Thursday January 24.