A Leeds barber is living in fear of an 'angry' gang of teenagers, aged about 14 and 15, who have been egging his shop.
Mariwan Husseini, 30, works in Harehills Lane which is under increased antisocial behaviour measures.
There’s a public drinking ban in the area, which could see offenders given six months' jail time, and it has been extended a further three months.
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Mariwan, who works in King Barber Men’s Salon, says large groups of teens crowd outside the shop in an antisocial manner.
The father-of-two, aged two and three, is scared of telling them to move as they keep egging the shop whenever he confronts them.
Mariwan said: “I don’t like it, but what can I do? It’s kids, you can’t do anything with kids.
"We’ve told them to go away but when we tell them to go away, they throw eggs at the door and the windows. They get it all dirty, I don’t like this.
“If you tell them to go away, they get angry. If you’re closing the shop, they might do something else.
“They’re like 14 or 15, in big groups, four, five six, sometimes ten people. Anything they can find, they throw at us. Now we leave them – ‘do whatever you like,’ I say.”
The barber, who has been working in Harehills for two years, says he is determined to move away from the area when his children grow up, as he does not want them living in an unsafe environment.
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He said: “I’m going to move to a safe area because I don’t trust anybody living here. When there are gangs of teenagers who are doing wrong things. If she [my daughter] is going with them, you can’t protect and save them.
“I’ve thought about it for a long time now.”
The drinking ban is called a Partial Premises Closure Order under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
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The ban prohibits anyone carrying an open container of alcohol, unless it’s in a licensed or residential premises. It covers Harehills Lane and the immediate surrounding area.
This order is stronger than the already enforced Public Spaces Protection Order which only fines those for anti-social drinking.
First time offenders are given a warning but repeat offenders can face prosecution and jail time.
It has been in force since December 2021 and was extended a further three months at the beginning of March.
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