'I'll come for you if you sell booze to Long Sutton youths'
A concerned councillor has vowed to clamp down on anyone selling booze to a gang of youths who are making residents’ lives a misery in Long Sutton.
There have been a series of problems in and around Winfrey Park in the town – including broken glass and intimidating behaviour from a group of teenagers.
In recent days, it’s said that the group have even thrown eggs at an elderly lady’s home and set fire to a dog waste bin – leaving mess all over the park.
Long Sutton councillor Jack Tyrrell is concerned that the youngsters are drinking and is worried that they might have bought the booze in the town.
Coun Tyrrell is head of South Holland District Council’s licensing committee and warned: “If you are selling to local kids then be careful - your own councillor is chairman of licensing. If I find out it is happening in our town I will stop it and I will have them done for it.”
He said he is worried that the constant stream of anti-social behaviour could spiral into even worse criminal acts as the teens involved get older.
He added: “Most kids in this area are good kids but you always get half a dozen – in this case ten or eleven – who are a pain and think they rule the roost.
“If you don’t nip it in the bud at this age then what chance have you got when they are older?”
The parish council has employed a security guard – fitted with a bodycam – in a bid to stamp out the issues.
Parish chairman John Clarey said the council had spent more than £20,000 on equipment for the park in the last 18 months or so – some of which has been damaged before coronavirus rules even allowed it to be used.
He said there has been a ‘massive problem’ ever since the first lockdown – and that, while the security officer had initially helped, the matter was a ‘continuous’ issue.
He called on parents to do their bit to keep their children under control – and for the police to do more to help.
Coun Clarey said: “The trouble is, whenever you go in the park you just don’t know what you are going to find. It’s destruction.
“It’s just mindless idiots really. I just don’t know the answer.
“It does start with the parents. I always think you have got to look after your own to start with. But we always need help from the police too.”
Both councillors were critical of the police and said they were frustrated that officers had not done more to combat the problem – feeling that coronavirus restrictions have also been broken by the group.
Police told the Spalding Guardian that this is the priority for the Suttons beat team this quarter – and they have asked members of the public to send them evidence to help them deal with the culprits.
Inspector Nick Waters, of South Holland Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “There are over 30 parks across South Holland and the team have endeavoured to have a presence at as many as possible.
"Anti-social behaviour at Winfrey Park is this quarters priority for the Suttons beat team.
"In the run up to restrictions being eased, the local policing team have been in contact with all parish councils across the district in relation to parks and there is an open channel of communication for councillors in Long Sutton to discuss matters with the team."