Helensburgh Advertiser | News | Residents 'under attack'

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Thursday, 18th January, 2007 09:48

Residents 'under attack'

By Rachel Lamb

POLICE and fire crews rushed to a Helensburgh estate at the weekend after vandals deliberately started a fire in an empty flat.

The blaze, at a block of flats in Jutland Court, was quickly contained before it could spread to neighbouring homes.

The arsonists are thought to have broken into the property through an unsecured window and started the fire at around 9.20pm on Friday.

No-one was hurt in the attack but residents say they are tired of gangs causing chaos in the area and claim youths gather in empty flats to drink, take drugs and set fire to piles of rubbish.

One neighbour said that householders are being terrorised by youngsters who rap on their doors and shower them with abuse.

The woman, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said: “All hell has broken loose. Gangs of teenagers congregate round the back. You just don’t know what they are doing.

“They bang on your doors and windows, turn up your wheelie bins and set fire to the woods round the back. The flats on either side of me were empty for a while and they smashed the windows and broke down the door. I’ve been out to talk to them but you just get abuse.

“I worry that they might get violent, especially if they are drinking and taking drugs.

“I’m scared to answer my door and I don’t usually go out at night. If I do, I get a taxi to pick me up and drop me off right by my door.”

She added: “It worries me that they are setting fire to the empty flats. If they are left empty before someone comes to board them up, they are just letting the kids come in and destroy them.

“I’ve called the police on a couple of occasions and they come out eventually but they are not doing much.

`To be honest I don’t think they take it seriously enough. I feel like we are being ignored.”

The concerned mum fears for the safety of her 14–year–old son. She said: “I worry about my son getting caught up in it all. I can’t let him out to play because of the gangs. It’s hard on him living here — that’s why I want to get out of it. I’m in the process of getting shifted and I can’t wait to move away.”

Many of the properties on the estate are derelict and the buildings are covered in graffiti. Doors have been kicked in and empty flats are littered with broken glass.

Al Reay, councillor for the Helensburgh West ward, said: “Jutland Court is a big problem.

`The vandalism is dreadful and the number of empty properties has increased over the last six or seven months. As people move out it is beginning to deteriorate.

“These kids do things that excite them and invariably that is anti-social behaviour which causes problems for us, and more importantly for the people that live there. It’s only a small number of people who make life hell for everybody else.

“If people contact me, I go down there and do my best to resolve the problem but the properties are not owned by the council so there is very little we can do. I wish I could wave a magic wand but I don’t have one. I advise the tenants to report every incident to the police and make sure that they are all logged.”

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