Action demanded on yobs

Yobs are terrorising residents on a Staffordshire estate and will cause a serious accident or death unless something is done soon, it was claimed today.

Youths are riding motorcycles, quad bikes and even a Land Rover up and down a public footpath in the Hagley Park area of Rugeley.

Anti-social behaviour such as underage drinking, drug taking, littering of smashed beer bottles, abusive language and intimidation are also rife near Burnthill Lane and Elizabethan Way, residents claimed.

They say it has got so bad that a summit has been called to seek help from civic leaders and police. People claimed pedestrians were facing a huge risk of injury by using the path at any hour of the day and evening.

Cannock Chase District Councillors for the ward, Tony Williams and Neil Stanley, will join police, environmental health officers and residents to discuss issues at a public meeting tomorrow.

Councillor Williams said: "We have had numerous complaints there over the last few weeks, in particular from pedestrians who have nearly been hit by motorbikes, quad bikes and a Land Rover.

"They are used on the path at all hours of the day with no consideration for speed limits, noise or other people and it is a serious issue that we need to get addressed.

"I think if it carries on we are going to see somebody killed on that footpath."

Councillor Williams said the anti-social behaviour involved gangs of up to 25 youths who smashed and scattered beer bottles, urinated on residents' walls and property and were loud and abusive to passers-by.

"Most, if not all of these youths are underage drinkers and it is time the parents knew what was happening," he added. "We are trying to raise the profile of the problem to reduce it by public awareness, until the police catch these people."

The meeting is in the Dave Boulter room at Rugeley Leisure Centre (7pm).