Our once-proud town is being ruined by drunks and addicts – criminals use brazen tricks but cops are nowhere to be seen
A DRUNK man waves back and forth across the pavement before stretching backwards across a meter box, his arms flailing wildly.
A friend takes the roll-up cigarette from his mouth and helps himself to a puff.
The troubling scene is no surprise to the residents of South Shields, Tyneside, an area blighted by drugs and brazen criminal gangs – with law-abiding citizens saying the police are failing to act.
South Tyneside has been identified as one of five neighbourhood crime hotspots in England and Wales in a report for think tank Onward – which said that tackling antisocial behaviour was crucial for “left behind” areas.
In the town’s Woodbine Estate, just a short walk from the centre, gardens are strewn with rubbish and household items such as vacuum cleaners have been fly-tipped on the pedestrian walkways.
But the hot topic amongst residents is the “drug tunnel” – a pedestrian walkway which they claim is a magnet for drug users and the dealers who feed their habits.
One grandmother, too afraid to be identified, said: “It’s completely
blatant, I can’t believe the brass neck of the dealers.
“They stand there at night and hand out whatever the hell it is
they’re selling to kids who can’t be older than 13 or 14.
“You can smell the grow houses on the estate, there’s a stink of
cannabis everywhere and then they send the dealers out to flog it to
kids. It’s a complete business operating right in front of the decent
people on this estate.
“And the police do nothing. There should be a police presence in that
underpass every night and drug dealers getting their doors kicked in.
“But it’s been this way for months now. One of the dealers has his
number written on the wall so that the kids can get in touch and he’ll
be down in two minutes.”
Sure enough a mobile number is scrawled in marker pen on one of the lights that illuminates the tunnel.
Child poverty epidemic
South Tyneside is one of the country’s most deprived areas, with an
unemployment rate running at 6.5 per cent compared to the national average of 3.7 per cent.
The borough also has one of the UK’s worst child poverty epidemics –
39 per cent of its young people are deemed to be living under the breadline, compared to the national average of 27 per cent.
Ian Driver, 58, sees the results of the grinding poverty faced by many
as CEO of Veterans Response, a charity aimed at helping servicemen and women in need.
He’s also no stranger to antisocial behaviour.
Ian said: “We’ve been here for 10 years and we’re a vital service to
former services personnel who have nowhere left to turn.
“Some of them are on the streets and others can’t afford to feed themselves.
“We run a foodbank which sees about 40 people coming for help every week. They fought for us, now we have to fight for them.
“We’re really proud of what we do, everyone here is a volunteer, including me.
“So we were bloody furious to arrive for work to find the shutters of
our shop had been daubed with IRA graffiti.
“We’ve heard it was just a pair of drunks who thought it would be
funny, but what does that say about people’s attitude?
“There is no respect for anybody or anything.
“You see it all over the town, people damaging property and issuing
threats, it’s a huge problem.
“They should be rounded up and made to clear up the mess they’ve
created in high vis jackets that say, ‘I am an offender’.”
“I’d name them and shame them because the police don’t seem to be able to do anything to put a stop to it.”
Raiding Greggs for a snack
His colleague Paul Boyle, 71, chips in: “Only this morning there were
kids raiding the Greggs up the road.
“They just go in and grab armfuls of food and run off with them, they don’t fear being caught.
“At the bus station they break into the drivers’ locker rooms and
pinch stuff out of there. It’s so blatant.”
William Quinn, 34, has returned to South Tyneside after 20 years living away.
He said: “One of the reasons I left was because of the drugs and the
gangs and now I’m back I’ve found it’s changed – it’s the street drinkers who are causing the problems.
“I understand that antisocial behaviour is a problem but you’ll only
tackle that by getting to the root cause of it.
“A lot of the theft and shoplifting and begging is caused by people
who are committing crimes of desperation.
“We need to bring back a sense of community to the town and do
something to help the homeless and the people who are struggling so much they turn to petty crime.”
Repeat offenders
In busy King Street, a constable responsible for town centre policing stops to chat.
The officer said: “Today is quite a good day, it’s been quiet and I do
think we’re making a difference here.
“We see motorcycle disorder at night – sometimes two or three kids riding through the town centre on one bike without helmets.
“Shoplifting is also an issue, often as a means of obtaining goods to
sell in order to buy drugs.
“We’re seeing the same small group of offenders committing the
majority of the crime.
“They’ll go to jail for a few weeks and it will go quiet but will start up again once they’re released.”
Begging to survive
Amid the charity shops and bargain stores of King Street, a homeless man unfurls his unwashed hands to reveal neat rows of £1 coins, his day’s ‘earnings’ so far.
“On a good day I’ll make £40 to £50,” he says. “People here might not
have much but they’re still generous enough to make sure I don’t
starve.”
Beggars like Lee, 34, get a special mention in the Government’s
“action plan to crack down on antisocial behaviour“.
It aims to deliver police “the tools to direct people causing a
nuisance on the street to the help they need”.
Tackling antisocial behaviour in these areas was seen as a vital first
step in the process of regeneration.
But the homeless man disputes that his daily routine is causing anyone any issues.
He says: “I sleep on the street, I’ve no other choice. My place is
behind the B&M store at the back of the high street.
“I’m not bothering anyone, I’ve nowhere to live and I have to rely on
people’s kindness to survive, it’s as simple as that.
“This is not the life I want but people know me here and they look
after me and give me a bit of spare change so that I can get one
square meal a day.
“I still drink, I’m not going to lie about that, but my drink problem
is nowhere near what it used to be.
“There was a point where I was drinking two or three litres of vodka every day.
“I had a really difficult childhood, my mam was murdered when I was 13 and I went to pieces, totally off the rails and this is where I’ve
ended up.
“I know this area has its problems with unemployment and crime, but I don’t think I’m adding to them.”
Night thieves
It isn’t only South Shields where the problems are evident.
On neighbouring Jarrow’s Scotch Estate, Jessica Wingrove and boyfriend Mason Taws captured the latest attempt at stealing his motorbike on CCTV.
The thieves were unsuccessful, leaving behind bolt cutters they
planned to use to sever the security chain.
Although their bid failed – their second since the turn of the year –
the sight of their masked faces staring up at the security cameras has
proved unnerving for the young couple.
Jess said: “Personally I believe the police need to be more involved
in areas that are hit regularly and motorbike theft in particular
needs more police attention and a slap on the wrist if they are caught is not enough.
“Police patrols during the night would be helpful in areas like this.
We’re utterly tired of this kind of behaviour.”
A spokesperson for South Tyneside Council said: “One of the council’s five ambitions is to build strong communities where people feel safe and secure.
“Antisocial behaviour can have a serious detrimental impact on quality of life and we know that addressing it is something local people want us to prioritise.
“In direct response to residents’ concerns, there has been significant investment in community safety resourcing in the last year. New engagement officers will work alongside a business and community response team, targeting hotspot areas both proactively and reactively to resolve local issues.
“We have worked closely with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner on a range of initiatives including seasonal diversionary youth work, which delivered a reduction in violent crime last summer. We have provided a youth outreach programme in support of a regional transport taskforce to put resources to tackle ASB on the public transport network.
“We have also developed a partnership protocol around canvassing of hotspot areas for motorcycle nuisance and using the intelligence to identify offenders and encourage reporting of incidents.
“Antisocial behaviour is often complex and needs tackling collaboratively and holistically. We work hand-in-hand with the police and other partners, community groups and schools to take an early intervention and preventative approach as well as raising awareness about the consequences of anti-social behaviour and its effect on victims.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe where they live. We’d urge anyone who is experiencing or witnesses anti-social behaviour to report it.”
