A BOY of eight leans against a wall and takes furtive drags from a vape as he chats to an older mate.
Meanwhile, youngsters on scooters tear through the Viewley Shopping Centre in Hemlington, Middlesbrough, throwing insults at elderly ladies as they pass.
This is the police area of Cleveland – the UK’s most crime ridden borough with 128.5 offences per 1000 people.
New figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed it to be the most dangerous place to live in the country.
And residents have told how they are terrorised by “feral” gangs of kids, making them too afraid to venture out at night.
Local David Liddell, a 58-year-old carer, told The Sun: “The crime figures are no surprise to me at all. Knife crime here is horrific.
“One of our carers was the victim of an attack so now we have to double up. There were three lads outside a house waiting.
“Since then two carers have got to go in together in case one needs to call for help.
“The council have to foot the bill so it’s doubling the price for them. There’s loads of bikes, quad bikes, drugs runners.”
Hemlington is a housing estate built round a man-made lake.
It was the scene of a horrific attack on a police officer at the end of 2023 where the officer was set upon by a gang and injured so badly he had to leave the force.
Five men were jailed for a total of 20 years for the violence, which left the officer with PTSD.
But David fears police have little way of stopping such crimes unfold.
“The police don’t do anything,” he said. “Even if they’re watching they don’t do anything at all.
“They can’t stop them on a motorbike. They’re not allowed to. They can’t chase them. The drugs are rife.
“We need more police but I am not quite sure what they would do anyway.”
The carer said he knows someone who had a car dumped outside of their house.
But although it had “been wrecked” he claims little was done to resolve the matter.
“They had broken it up and taken the parts,” David explained. “The police towed it away but they didn’t investigate. It’s crazy.
“During the day it’s not too bad. You have a lovely lake and some nice residents.
“It’s when it falls dark. The drug runners come out. No one walks along here. It’s scary.
“It’s a no-go area. I hadn’t heard about the police officer who was attacked. It doesn’t surprise me though.”
Joyce Sturdy and friend Sharon Nicholson are both grandmothers who use mobility scooters.
And as they stopped to chat to our reporter about what it’s like to live in Hemlington two young lads on scooters yelled: “Gangsta grannies!”
Sharon, who was walking her dogs Eddie and Beau, rolled her eyes and said: “See what we mean?”
Joyce, 74, told The Sun: “We have a lot of youth hanging around here at night time round the lake.
The police don’t do anything. Even if they’re watching they don’t do anything at all.
David Liddell
“People come round the estate on their motorbikes. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s the worst.
“A lot of respect has gone. You can’t chastise children anymore. There’s no discipline.”
The retired school cook added: “You’re not allowed to do anything. We have become too soft as a society.
“They have taken power away from the police as well. I have lived here 30 odd years.
“I used to live in a house which backed onto a hill. The children would all play together.
“We’d walk them to school together. The parents would get together. You don’t see any of that now.”
Sharon, a 63-year-old retired driving instructor, agreed, insisting: “All the kids want to do is wreck everywhere.
“They are pulling fences down. They are burning the bins. The kids are feral.
“A lot of the youngsters are doing it because the bigger ones are getting them to do it.
“We don’t feel safe here. I never used to bring my phone with me but I worry something might happen so I do now.”
All the kids want to do is wreck everywhere.
Sharon Nicholson
Sharon said she no longer goes out at night, with the added fear the cops might not be able to help if something happens.
“After 5pm we stay inside,” she said. “The police seem powerless. They never come out.
“They do not have the resources. But then again if there was a bigger police presence it could instigate more trouble.”
The women claim taxis and buses won’t travel down Cass House Road, where the officer was attacked, at night out of fear of getting bricked.
Anthony Bass, 67, a retired marine diver, added: “There is a lot of trouble.
“We have motorbikes fleeing from here and into the estate over there and the police chasing after them.
“We also have quad bikes running about. We had a motorcycle with three little boys on it with ninja masks.
“The lady in the post office has had to lock her door because she’s been robbed so many times.
“It frightened a lot of the older people and the shopkeepers. It’s a bit disconcerting to say the least.”
Anthony said he is “not really surprised by the figures,” and that “crime goes where the poor people are”.
“They have got nothing so it’s nothing to them to take things that don’t belong to them,” he said.
My partner tells me not to take my wallet in case I get mugged.
Anthony Bass
“A police presence would be nice especially when people are frightened.
“Even just a bobby walking around especially given the crime figures.
“I would come here at night but my partner has said there’s no way she would.
“The lake was built as a recreational area but when you have people too scared to go there something is wrong.
At the other end of Middlesbrough, on the notorious housing estate of Brambles Farm, it is a similar story.
It was here that in December 2023, vulnerable 50-year-old Glenna Siviter was murdered for her jewellery by Andrew Hall.
The 47-year-old is now serving life for murder and the attempted murder of a separate victim.
Retired construction worker Ronald Smith, 78, said: “I wouldn’t have said it was the worst.
“There’s some nice people around here. We’ve been here a long time. It’s only a certain few who spoil it.
I wouldn’t come out at night. That’s when the gangs come out.
Charlie Mangan
“The kids have nowhere to go. But they should know better.”
Meanwhile 24-year-old mum-of-two said wouldn’t dare to “come out at night” as “that’s when the gangs come out”.
Charlie, who is mum to seven-month-old baby Teddy, and three-year-old Noah, says she walks the streets with her kids during the day but “not on an evening”.
“Kids these days are vile,” she said. “They scream and shout. It’s all the kids causing the problems.
“We see street wardens, but not the police. I would feel safer if I saw the police more often.
“Walking around the estate on a night is creepy. You don’t know what’s on the streets these days. It’s scary.
“You hear about people being chased and stabbed. You think ‘what if I go out and get chased?’
“You don’t know what’s round the corner. If you might get stabbed or attacked.”
The Sun has reached out to Middlesborough Council – responsible for Hemlington and Brambles Farm areas – for comment.
Cleveland Police statement
Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said: “The Cleveland Police area has a number of complex and challenging socio-economic issues including high levels of deprivation and unemployment, which influence levels of crime.
“Despite these challenges, overall crime across Teesside has reduced by 7.5 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year, with reductions in almost all crime types.
“Burglary has dropped by 22 per cent across the force and we have more than 3,000 fewer victims of violence, with a 10.2 per cent reduction.
“Whilst these figures are encouraging, we are not complacent and we will continue to strive to tackle criminals and protect the communities we serve.
“Our refreshed Neighbourhood Policing strategy focuses on community engagement to better understand residents’ priorities, problem solving and prevention to address those issues, and targeted activity in areas identified as hotspots for crime and antisocial behaviour.
“We have dedicated PCSOs in each district who work as part of our Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs).
“Together, they work with key partners to address issues like antisocial behaviour and divert young people away from the criminal justice system as we know policing alone cannot solve the issue.
“We also have Proactive Teams in all four districts who carried out almost 1,000 stop searches and seized more than £1million worth of drugs in 2024.
“This approach to utilising stop and search powers has seen a reduction in knife crime across Cleveland of 12 per cent.
“Our dedicated Matrix officers tackle serious and organised criminals who are causing significant harm within our communities and they have made 2,133 arrests in the last 12 months (January 2024 – December 2024).
“Operation Artemis also runs monthly; this is a proactive operation focused on tackling crime.
“While we are always proactive in our approach, information from the public remains vital and it’s important that our communities keep engaging with us.
“If any members of the public have any issues or concerns, please contact us on 101 or report crime online here: Report a crime | Cleveland Police Always call 999 in an emergency.”
Glenna Siviter was murdered at her home in Middlesbrough[/caption]
Craig Bradley, Martin Rivers, Macauley Owen, Samuel Lane and Josh Blackston brutally assaulted a police officer[/caption]
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