Gangs of youths have been terrorising a Leeds council estate and one man has had enough and “won’t back down”.
Retired bus driver Eric Vary, 73, has lived in Swarcliffe in east Leeds for 23 years. The father-of-three has been dubbed “the biggest grass on estate”. The derogatory term grass originates from the saying “snake in the grass”, someone perceived as ‘traitorous’ who will inform on people he or she knows to the authorities.
Even though Eric doesn’t wear a cape, preferring the gilet and cardigan combo, he stands up to the bullies and makes reports to the police, in a bid to clean up his area of drugs and antisocial behaviour (ASB).
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Swarcliffe has received the highest amount of ASB offences in the past year out of all the residential suburbs, with West Yorkshire Police reporting 415 crimes between March 2021 and February 2022. Which is second only to Leeds city centre with 825 ASB crimes.
The pensioner shrugs off any notion to him being a crime-fighting superhero but says: "I just stand up for what I believe in". As we chat to Eric, a motorcyclist speeds past and does a wheelie in the road. Eric remarked: “I think it’s diabolical and I report it, they drive all over the place and they tend to have no insurance and no tax. It’s a danger to everybody.
“It’s a problem and it’s only by working with police that we get this sorted out. A lot of people think 'what’s the bloody point' because if police catch them, the crown prosecution service 'don’t do owt'. It’s a big let-down.
“People daren’t go to the shop because of yobbos. They just come across you, I’ve been hit by one, they don’t give a damn. They come full on and they’re doing wheelies, everyone is frightened.”
Eric says he had CCTV footage of a woman putting windows through his house but it was “thrown out” for “lack of insufficient evidence”. Eric also relays that drug dealing is a big problem in his neighbourhood.
'Biggest grass on estate'
Speaking about how Eric got his derogatory nickname, he said: “Drugs are a big problem on Swarcliffe estate and these bikes. They haven’t tried selling me them because I’m known as the biggest grass in the area, by the way. It’s pathetic but it doesn’t really bother me as I stand up for what I believe in.”
A ‘drug dealer’ who lives on Eric’s street coined the nickname in the estate. One night he came home to find the lad with a friend “lobbing bricks at the bus shelter”. Feeling brave, he confronted them and asked them: “What the hell are you doing?”
“You don’t have to pay for it!” thundered back the lads, tittering erratically with a mad look in their eyes.
Quick as a flash, Eric beefed himself up and shot back cool as ice: “Just to educate you, I’m retired and I’m having to pay tax on my bloody pension to pay for it.”
The lad, sweat pouring down his temple, got up close into Eric’s face and said: “Well, well, you’re well known for being the biggest grass on estate.”
Not put off by the smell of the young lad’s breath, Eric said: “If I was the biggest grass in the estate, why haven’t you had the police knocking on your door? You’ve been selling drugs outside my house in front of my camera.”
The young lad then frantically tried to extricate himself from the situation, “what’s a bit of weed?” he said in a panic. All Eric did was wag his finger and reply “you don’t taste weed and not on camera”. Those buying Class A drug cocaine, which comes in the form of white powder, will often taste or sniff the drug before they make a purchase to test the quality. With this mic drop of an exchange, Eric turned and walked home, putting the young lad firmly in his place.
Eric frowns as he recalls the situation, he concludes: “It’s disgusting, drugs are disgusting, completely disgusting. I felt threatened but I’m the type of bloke who won’t back down.”
Eric adds that he’s seen youths dump machetes and other sharp objects in hedges when police are close by and is devastated by the amount of rubbish which accumulates on the estate.
Pauline, a mother-of-four and grandmother-of-seven, who didn’t want her last name published, has called for corporal punishment to be brought back. She believes the youths between “eight and 17” embroiled in the gang life could do with learning more respect for their elders.
Pauline said: “They have no respect, for their elders or themselves. When I was in school and you didn’t do what you were told, you’d get the cane or a clip around the ear. Then when you went home and you told your parents, you’d get another as you’d obviously done something.
“But there was an element of respect, as you knew how far you could go. Children knew where they stood, there was respect for people and their property.”
What West Yorkshire Police say about crime in Swarcliffe
Inspector Chantel Patrick, who heads the Leeds East Neighourhood Policing Team, which covers Swarcliffe, said: “We continue to work closely alongside our partner agencies to address any issues of crime and anti-social behaviour in these areas and do everything we can to help keep those communities feeling safe.
“We encourage people to report any incidents, particularly if they have specific information about known individuals who are involved, so that we can take appropriate action, using all available criminal and civil legislation.
“Behaviour that impacts on people’s quality of life is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated and we remain fully committed to proactively targeting issues or incidents where they arise and bringing those responsible to justice.”
