A pensioner from Heanor has said she is 'scared' to live in the town as 'kids and taking control'. Marie Shelvey (not her real name) claimed nothing has been done about the incidents she has informed the police about.
Marie believes this is because the occurrences are not viewed as being serious enough. She decided to install a video camera on her home to record evidence of the behaviour.
Derbyshire Live reports the film shows a group of youngsters walking by her garden fence and kicking and slamming into it. She said: “It’s all the time, every other night. It’s getting me down and making me ill. I can’t sleep as I'm waiting for that every night. It scares me.”
Read more: 'Appalling' road under fire after woman fractures ankle on pothole
She said she is not the only one to be targeted. In the past few weeks, she claimed some neighbours have had their front doors booted in.
Her fence is reinforced and cost her £1,000 to have installed. She reckons that if it had been a normal fence, it would have come down under the weight of the attacks on it.
The 69-year-old lives on her own in the terraced house. The incidents usually occur between 4pm and 7pm - after schools finish for the day.
Over the Christmas period, though, they got worse, and she was targeted on Christmas Eve at 9pm. But the police officers involved were off work for the holidays, and Marie’s frustration has grown to the point where she has been going out to look for the youths herself after dark, with a view to asking them to stop.
She said: “They’re not doing anything. Over the holiday there’s been no police at all. They put me through to 101 and I go through seven different options and the call goes dead.”
The trouble at Marie’s is the latest in a long line of reported anti-social behaviour in Heanor and neighbouring areas over the past year. In April a dispersal order was put in place after complaints about gangs of unruly teenagers causing havoc in the town.
In June, Derbyshire Live reported how angry residents said that they thought parents of the offending children should 'get a backbone'. And just weeks ago, Trentbarton was forced to cancel some services after multiple buses were damaged when yobs threw rocks at them.
Marie said: “It’s not a town to live in anymore. It didn’t use to be like this, 20-odd years ago. It’s gone downhill in the past three years. The kids are taking control.”
A spokesperson for Derbyshire Constabulary said: "We are aware of the concerns of anti-social behaviour at this property, and officers from the Heanor Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team have been in contact with the resident about their concerns. The reports we have received have been around young people banging on her fence, which has knocked ornaments over, at different intervals over the past few months.
"We have received footage and carried out local enquiries to try and trace those responsible. While they haven’t yet been identified, our enquiries are continuing. If anyone does have any information, we would encourage them to contact us."
The force spokesperson said the property is covered by 'key patrols' by the Heanor Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team to 'help prevent and deter' the anti-social behaviour. They said: "Officers are also working with the Amber Valley Community Safety Partnership to support the resident and to take further appropriate action if possible.
"There have been wider concerns in Heanor over the past few months around anti-social behaviour, and steps have been taken including dispersal orders and dedicated patrols. Reports have reduced but our work is continuing.
"We are sorry that the resident doesn’t feel the level of service for our non-emergency reporting meets her expectations. Demand on our 101 non-emergency number does increase during bank holidays and over the festive season, and so we offer people a number of different ways to contact us. They include our website, or via private message through Facebook or our contact centre on Twitter. If the incident requires an immediate police response, or someone’s life is at risk, then people should always call 999."
READ NEXT:
Join Slimming World for free with this great offer - claim now to kickstart your journey
Wilko secures £40 million funding as it fails to 'perform to full potential'
Major pizza restaurant chain confirms Nottingham opening date
Nottingham City Council's unlawful misspend now set to cost up to £51 million
