People living on an estate blighted by crime and anti-social behaviour said they are "scared."
The Woodchurch Estate in Birkenhead has been the subject of a year of crime and anti-social behaviour, including multiple shootings. At the beginning of this month a man in his 20s was shot on Orrets Meadow Road in the leg by a man riding what witnesses said was a moped.
Police have now launched a crackdown on a drug-dealing organisation believed to be operating in the estate, which is regularly classed by police gang experts among the "top three" threats to public safety in Merseyside. They believe the various shootings that have taken place in the estate this year have been related to the activities of this drug gang.
READ MORE: 'Dangerous' gang destroying estate as violence increases
On Monday, police will be awarded further powers in parts of the estate including and surrounding the Hoole Road shops, where a man was shot multiple times in front of a young girl in March and where there is regularly a police presence due to anti-social behaviour from gangs of youths, who hang around the shops.
One person who lives near Orrets Meadow Road said local youths creating anti-social behaviour "look up" to those enacting the more hardened violent crimes in the estate. The person, who did not want to be identified, said: "The last two years this kind of thing has been getting steadily worse.
"They walk up to the house and bang on the door or throw rocks fairly regularly.
"A couple years ago the estate had three cars firebombed seperately over several months by teenagers on bikes, bricks through old age pensioners's windows and a bike set on fire at the community hub on Hoole Road.
"It calmed down for a time, but this year it's picked up again, this time with guns. People are scared."
One woman who lives near the Hoole Road shops, who didn't want to be identified, said the increased police powers are "needed to be honest." She said: "I’ve lived on the estate my whole life.
"The kids used to be naughty but not like it is now, doing whatever they’re doing. If the police can help stop that around here then it’s a good thing.
"They need sorting out. It needs curbing. I think more of a police presence would be a good thing."
Speaking to the ECHO on Friday, Wirral community policing inspector Alan McKeon, native of the Woodchurch estate, said: "The Woodchurch has some historical crime issues, but what I would say, in probably the last three or four years, gang related violence has become a lot more prominent there. i.e, the use of firearms as part of factional disputes."
He added: "Because there has been the firearms discharges on the estate now, that's set understandable fear amongst the community. It is that thing really, whereby the community know who are dealing the drugs, and they're aware that these attacks are targeted, and they're aware of the people involved in it.
"But nonetheless, that doesn't do anything to address the fear, for those reasons like we've said; you've got innocent people there. The firearms discharge back in March on Hoole Road, that was early evening, it was daylight, there was people in the street, there was a child over the road. You can see on the CCTV footage when that happened."
A new public space protection order is due to come into place on the Hoole Road area and the area of the estate known as "The Meadow" on Monday, December 19. It will give police and authorised enforcement officers increased powers over the next three years, with an option to extend if necessary.
Wirral Council said that included in the new powers will be a ban on anyone consuming alcohol in public in the restricted area. It also prohibits the use or possession of other substances including legal highs, nitrous oxide and other drug-related paraphernalia.
Between the hours of 3pm and 10pm each day, police can order anyone in a gathering of two or more in public in the restricted area to disperse, if they are believed to be intending to engage in behaviour that could alarm, harass or cause distress to others.
Face coverings will also be banned within the area, exempting those who wear them for religious or medical purposes. Restrictions will also be placed on people riding a bike, scooter or other wheeled form of transport on the paved area in front of the Hoole Road shops, with an exemption for mobility vehicles.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
READ NEXT:
Terrifying video shows ten people sliding on icy Sefton Park lake
EncroChat thug 'Stealthy' boasted of 'mint wages' from heroin and guns trade
West Derby bistro in running for North West's best takeaway
Mercedes van sealed off after being found on fire in road
Burglar who targeted Raheem Sterling's mansion has home taken away
