A pensioner has spoken out after he was punched confronting a vandal.

John Brooker said youths run unchecked in his area while residents stay in at night out of fear.

Fears have been raised that cuts in youth services and policing could make similar attacks more frequent in the future.

Mr Brooker, 65, was pushed to the ground and punched when he told a teenager to go home after bins were overturned outside a block of flats.

He said the youth, who had a group of friends waiting nearby, followed him into the back of the flats and attacked him.

He suffered a black eye.

Mr Brooker said there is a problem with the behaviour of young people in the area.

He said: “There are lots of kids going round in groups.

“There is a bad atmosphere. Lots of people round here don’t tend to go out at night time.

“They don’t get involved. I suppose some of it is fear.”