A pretty green space in a medieval English city has been blighted with kids as young as 12 drinking booze, drug taking and vandalism and children being “dropped off with a load of alcohol” by their parents.

Little Knavesmire, in York, North Yorks, is close to the racecourse and copes with some occasional exuberance on meeting days from racegoers heading into the city centre.

But over recent summers anti-social behaviour has emerged with hordes of young people hanging out in the green spaces drinking alcohol, setting off fireworks and taking drugs.

The local cricket ground and football club have been subject to vandalism and in some cases, local altercations have been sparked between fed-up residents and the out-of-control youngsters.

In May the local Ovington Cricket Club posted images of damaged screens which would be a “great cost to the club” and in June images from the area showed the grass strewn with broken alcohol bottles and drug paraphernalia.

READ MORE… Iranians set to stage huge protests marking one year since Mahsa Amini death

The land itself is owned by the City of York Council and Labour (co-op) MP Racheal Maskell said a new council was working hard to fix the problems but she had previously been “shocked” by the response she had from the former authority.

Ms Maskell said Little Knavesmire “was like a bar where there’s no toilet, no licensing, on public land where only children go, and the local authority turned its back”.

She said: “This was young people presenting a significant public health challenge while being at risk and using the area as a public toilet and the cricket pavilion.

“The police tried to get engagement with much frustration with the local authority and they were not stepping up.

“What has emerged over the summers has been a gathering of young people on the Little Knavesmire, which has led to anti-social behaviour. A football club has been vandalised, the cricket pavilion and their equipment.

“We are talking about children probably about the age of 12 or 13, their parents were dropping them off with a load of alcohol, you’ve got to ask questions.

“There were older people hanging around the site, so clearly there was known risk of exploitation around these young people, with some (older people) known to be providing alcohol and drugs.”

Ms Maskell explained problems of young people “hanging out” moved around the city because young people “always hang out”.

Don’t miss…
POLL: Do you back Sunak’s plan for more oil drilling in the North Sea?[LATEST]
PM pledges to power up UK as new oil and gas plan prioritises energy security[LATEST]
Sunak demands Kremlin critic be released after being handed 25 year sentence[LATEST]

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

She said: “They need to be able to do that safely and securely, and that wasn’t happening and therefore there were school-age children at significant risk.

“And it wasn’t just Friday or Saturday night, it was every night throughout the summer, and it was causing much distress and altercations with local residents.”

Ms Maskell added the proximity of older people around younger intoxicated people “clearly” made some younger people at risk of “sexual assault”.

But the MP added that “incredibly hard work” from local councillors has now enabled there to be limited “youth provision” at the Little Knavesmire site and safeguarding measures were being put in place.

She continued: “Now we have a change of local authority there is a much greater focus on a public health agenda, and as a result of that more facilities are being provided to protect youth work.

“We don’t have youth services in York so young people are cut adrift in the system, but this is something the new local authority have said they will look at.”

A local resident, who did not wish to be named, said the Little Knavesmire was still a lovely place to live but each government agency thought the anti-social behaviour was “another’s responsibility”.

They said: “It’s always the residents that end up suffering.

“The police are really good when called for but obviously can only respond to actual crime, it’s the stuff that just falls short of actual crime that nobody deals with.”

The resident added that this year was “not too bad” compared to previous years but that this was a “coincidence” rather than “steps taken by any public bodies”.

Councillor Michael Pavlovic, Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer Communities for the City of York Council, said: “York’s Community Safety Hub speaks daily with Neighbourhood Policing Teams to review antisocial behaviour reports so we can respond very quickly to emerging hotspots and put proportionate plans in place to tackle issues.

“Thankfully, we have received very few calls about Little Knavesmire this summer, but of course will respond to any escalation if and when it occurs.”

A spokesperson from North Yorkshire Police said: “Over the past three months there has been a reduction in anti-social behaviour incidents in the Little Knavesmire area.

“As this location is patrolled by the local Neighbourhood Policing Team we can respond to any incidents very quickly, and should residents have any concerns they are advised to make contact with us.”

Source: Read Full Article