Gorleston police purge on youths

police at Gorleston are pleased with the success of a crackdown on badly-behaved youths in the past two weeks.

It follows investigations by the town's Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) into a series of crimes linked to anti-social behaviour in the Trafalgar Road East area.

In the past fortnight 10 people have been arrested and two charged with offences linked to anti-social behaviour outside Waterloo Stores.

Unruly teenagers had been gathering in groups, mostly at night, intimidating shoppers and residents.

The team gathered evidence from witnesses and shopkeepers after an escalation in the problem in the past few weeks. In one case, a trouble-maker smashed the window of Waterloo Stores.

PC Tony Hogan, the area beat officer, said: “We are working hard to tackle the problems caused by groups of youths in this part of Gorleston.

“Although we have had some success in bringing offenders to justice, we want to insure that we keep the pressure up on those young people wishing to make people's lives a misery.

“We will use whatever measures we can to control these youngsters.

“We don't under-estimate the effect that these people are having on the local residents. We would urge people to contact us if they have any information on these people.”

PC Hogan added: “At first they were a bit rowdy and complained of not having anywhere to go, but lately the problem has escalated, with behaviour bordering on the criminal.

“We are looking at helping to set up a youth club and having a youth shelter in the town but want to see what the community thinks before seeking funding.”

PC Hogan blamed peer pressure for the behaviour of some of the youths.

Anyone who would like to volunteer to work with the town's youth groups should contact Gorleston SNT on 0845 456 4567.