Protesting villagers are up a blind alley

A tunnelled alleyway which attracts yobs and anti-social behaviour cannot be blocked off by a gate, residents of a South Staffordshire village have been told.

Youths throw eggs and scrap wood at house windows, drink, throw beer cans into back gardens, make noise late at night and spray graffiti while hanging around in the alley off Lingfield Drive, Great Wyrley. Last summer, villagers called for the 10-metre "Tunnel of Love" which passes under a rail line to be gated and locked by Staffordshire County Council.

But South Staffordshire Community Safety Partnership, comprising organisations including the county council, South Staffordshire Council and police, has said it cannot be gated because it is a public footpath.

John Littleton, chairman of the partnership's joint operations group, said some of the problems had arisen since Quinton Area Project finished 18 months ago.

The project gave young people sporting, music and other activities to keep them occupied and off the street.

Two new police community support officers and a youth worker dedicated to the area are due to start working to stop youths with nothing better to do hanging around the streets. Anti-graffiti paint is also being tested on the walls of the tunnel.

An elderly Lingfield Drive resident, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said he understood why it could not be gated and praised the partnership for its work over recent months.

But the problem was so bad that one of his neighbours had put their house up for sale, he said. "It's a difficult problem to solve, and I do appreciate the work being done.

"I can't expect a policeman to stop out here every night waiting for them to come. The large majority who use it are decent people.

"Why should we up sticks and leave to get away from it all? We're quite happy here, apart from this."