Gang terror on estate

People in the Durrington area are now logging every incident to try to get more CCTV cameras installed and street lights left on beyond 1am.

Offenders are currently able to go on the rampage under the cloak of darkness and CCTV cameras erected by some residents cannot record their actions.

Residents have had their homes pelted with bricks and eggs, graffiti daubed on their cars and their peace shattered into the early hours.

They say the problem has attracted youngsters from other estates, increasing the numbers from 15 to about 40.

Despite a police crackdown on the problem, which has included extra patrols and surveillance by unmarked police cars, Julia Phillips, of Manitoba Way, said the situation has got worse.

She said: "They have not stopped, they are still coming down in groups and congregating on corners. It can be quite intimidating, not for me because I'm a strong-willed person, but for children and older residents.

"There are children coming from other estates.

"There are police on bicycles in the day but it all happens at night. The lamps go off at certain times so there is no lighting, they can do what they do in darkness."

Neighbour Debbie Fuller, who tripped and broke her arm as she chased youths out of her garden, said: "The numbers started off at 15 but now they have reached more than 40.

"The place has become notorious - it's a nightmare living here. I'm a single mother and I cannot be doing with it."

Southern Housing area housing manager Richard Belcher believes the street lighting in Manitoba Way, Shelby Road and Vancouver Road is the responsibility of Worthing Borough Council.

He said the residents had a forum through which issues like surveillance cameras could be raised but there were no current plans to install CCTV in the estate.

Mr Belcher said: "We encourage all residents to tell us about incidents and give as much information as possible so it can be used at a later date."

Mrs Fuller said she had seen drug dealers selling to groups of children in broad daylight.

The Argus had reported how people living in Manitoba Way and nearby Shelby Road and Vancouver Road stood on their drives with snooker cues, baseball bats and golf clubs to protect their homes.

They are now making a 24-hour dossier of incidents which will be submitted to Southern Housing to prompt the housing provider to install more surveillance cameras and keep the lights on all night.

One Manitoba Way resident, who did not want to be named, said: "We've organised a link up with several tenants. If anything happens we all ring each other to make sure we see the same incident.

"We are going to build up a record and try to get photographs.

"We have asked Southern Housing to put up surveillance and lights, several of us have offered to use our own recording equipment for the cameras.

"Some of us have CCTV but the lights go off and it cannot see a thing."

Inspector Martin Pattenden, of Worthing North Neighbourhood Policing Team, said residents might be able to implement all-night lighting through soon-to-be introduced local action teams.

He said: "The strategy we are using to deal with this problem includes extra high-visibility policing in the day. At night we use a plain car to monitor youths, if there are offences we will deal with them.

"Another aspect is we have an officer concentrating solely on the problems of West Durrington.

"One of things he will be doing is visiting the homes and parents of youths involved and, where necessary, asking them to agree to anti-social behavioural contracts. They due set out what is appropriate behaviour and what is not. They can be used as evidence towards Anti-social Behaviour Orders (Asbos).

"Asbos have a legal footing, can be enforced and have people banned from a certain area or prevented from going out after certain times."

Insp Pattenden said: "I would support lighting through the night. This is the sort of thing we can address with the new local action teams."