A seaside town was rocked by a "reckless stabbing" in a shocking week of violence across Wirral.
Around 100 young people gathered on Cubbins Green in Caldy, West Kirby, on Friday to mark the ends of their exams. But the celebrations were soon marred by violence as a teenager was stabbed in the arms and legs.
Merseyside Police said it has received three different reports of assaults which took place on Cubbins Green that night. Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with the disorder and a dispersal zone - aimed at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour - was put in place over the weekend.
It's not the first time police have been granted extra powers in West Kirby in recent weeks, with a dispersal zone also having been issued over Easter weekend. During one incident on April 6, a boy ran into Banks Road, forcing a car to stop, before jumping on the windscreen, causing it to smash.
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In a separate incident in Ashton Park on May 30, a gang of youths fell into a lake as they attacked a man with a bicycle seat, leaving him with a head injury. The gang are believed to have been involved in a separate incident at Hoylake train station earlier the same day.
The ECHO headed down to West Kirby this week to speak to residents about the impact the violence has had on the community.
Ged Seddon, 63, who lives a short distance away from Cubbins Green, told the ECHO: "We normally get a few teenagers celebrating the end of exams, 99% of them are great but you get the odd few that are alcohol induced and they are the ones that cause trouble.
"Normally they're all very well behaved having a little BBQ on the beach. On the odd occasion police will be called.
"We've been here about nine years and in that time it does seem to be getting progressively worse as in more and more kids. We've never had an incident of that nature."
'It's not just our beach, it belongs to all the kids on the Wirral'
Caitlin Walker, 53, said her son was planning to go down to the beach with his girlfriend to celebrate the end of exams on Friday, but the incident unfolded before he arrived.
She told the ECHO: "We want them to hang out. We talk to them about safety, I know we've got anti-social behaviour in the area. I've personally had balaclava boys in my street."
Caitlin, who was at home with her 15-year-old son at the time of the celebrations on Friday, said: "I could hear the noise which I think is lovely, to hear them all having fun, laughing.
"My younger child, who's autistic, said 'mummy there's something wrong. The noise is wrong.'
"He said 'there's someone screaming.' I said 'do you think?' I came outside to listen, then I could hear the sirens."
As a youth worker, Caitlin has a lot of experience working with young people from different backgrounds through her company Training Attention. She said: "I feel absolutely confident to let my children come down her again.
"What I will do differently is, I will come and walk my dogs and I will invite my friends, and we will have a picnic on the beach - not as a vigilante but we could have gone 'that looks like trouble I'm going to let someone know.'
"It's not just our beach it belongs to all the kids on the Wirral. I would like to see the town embrace this and I would like to see adults out, not going 'be careful', but going 'let's all go out.'
"There could have been some BBQs, a few different stands - make it like a festival."
'Frightening and reckless stabbing'
On Friday, officers arrested a 15-year-old boy from Moreton on suspicion of Section 18 assault, possession of a controlled class B drug (cannabis) and violent disorder. He has since been bailed with conditions. A 16-year-old boy from Liscard who was also arrested on Friday on suspicion of Section 18 assault has been released with no further action.
On Sunday, June 18, police arrested a further two suspects in connection with the disorder in Caldy on Friday night. They include a 17-year-old boy from Liscard who was arrested on suspicion of Section 18 assault, possession of a controlled class B drug (cannabis), possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and violent disorder. He has been bailed with conditions.
A 16-year-old boy from Bidston was also arrested on suspicion of conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, assault, and violent disorder. He has been released under investigation.
Detective Inspector Emma Kerrigan described the incident as a "frightening and reckless stabbing" as she urged anyone with information to come forward.
It's not just the West Kirby area of Wirral that has come under the spotlight over the last week, with other serious incidents having been reported elsewhere in the borough. On Thursday, June 15, a man was seriously injured after being stabbed in the arm on Hoylake Road in Moreton.
Detectives believe a fight took place between two women, who were travelling in separate cars, close to the junction of Gautby Road and Hoylake Road between 5.45pm and 6.15pm on Thursday.
A short time later, at around 6.20pm, a second fight took place on a car park close to Heron Foods and the Coach and Horses pub on Hoylake Road. During this incident a 44-year-old man was slashed to the arm with a bladed weapon.
Chelsea Mighall, 35, of Worcester Road, Bidston, has been charged with conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and driving a motor vehicle dangerously. She was remanded into custody and was due to appear at Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton and St Helens adult remand court on Monday 19 June.
Meanwhile, in a separate, unrelated incident on Saturday, June 17, emergency services were called to reports of a house, skips and cars on fire, surrounding the Claughton Road area of Birkenhead. Two police officers were also hospitalised after suffering dog bites to their arm and hand.
Scott McKay, 31, of Guildford Street, Egremont has since been charged with 12 counts of arson with recklessness as whether life was endangered. He was kept in custody to appear at Adult Remand Court on Monday 19 June.
What Merseyside Police had to say
Wirral Chief Inspector Tom Welch said: “High visibility officers will continue to patrol in key anti-social hotspots to reassure people that we are proactively doing all we can to prevent such incidents from taking place.
“There will also be mobile police stations placed in key locations so our officers can speak to local residents who may have concerns. This will be supported by youth outreach workers to engage with young people and steer them away from anti-social behaviour.
“This is an opportunity for residents to talk to officers on patrol and raise any concerns you may have in the community or report any anti-social behaviour and crime.”
Merseyside Police said it launched Operation ‘Openspace’ last month - aimed at preventing serious violence and anti-social behaviour in key tourist hotspot areas including West Kirby and New Brighton.
Chief Inspector Welch added: “Proactive initiatives such as this allow us to have a targeted and coordinated approach to tackle anti-social and criminal behaviour and to prevent incidents from happening.
“Operation Openspace is a multi-agency collaboration working alongside partners in the borough including Wirral Council, park rangers, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and British Transport Police to address issues.
“In addition to planned action days being held, our officers are currently developing a series of proactive initiatives that will aim to address anti-social behaviour over a longer-term basis. This includes a series of projects which aims to improve relationships with local schools.
“Our officers remain in the area to reassure residents, and we are committed to removing anyone who stores, carries and uses weapons in our community through proactive use of stop and search powers, open land searches, warrants and education work alongside partners at schools in Wirral.”
If you have any information please use the following link to contact police https://unitedkingdom1cpp-portal.digital-policing.co.uk/merseyside/appeal/west-kirby-serious-assault You can also Crimestoppers hotline anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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