For two summers in a row, one desirable Welsh town has fallen prey to anti-social behaviour, criminal damage, drug use, and even bird murder, with locals fearing they have been "forgotten" as they are overrun by grief-causing teenagers. Quaint Caldicot in Monmouthshire has seen a consequent fall in visitors to the crime-blighted town centre.
“Caldicot is a forgotten town centre,” Martyn Semark, who has rented a flat above the shops on the high street for seven years, told WalesOnline's Jonathon Hill. “I moved here because I thought it was a nice place to be, it felt ideal. It has great connections with the M4, the M5, and Bristol Airport because I often work away.
"It was a popular town centre with shoppers but it was also peaceful. Now hardly anyone comes here to shop and we’ve got youths constantly gathering causing havoc.” Martyn said his home and his neighbours’ homes started being targeted last year and incidents of criminal damage have continued ever since.
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Some in the centre of the town have put barbed wire around their properties to stop teens climbing onto roofs via trees, drain pipes and scaffolding.
“It first came to my attention last year when some guys were climbing up the scaffolding attached to the flat with bread," Martyn recalled. "I realised when looking at my cameras that they were trying to attract the pigeons and then they were killing them. Don’t ask me why. They were going up onto my roof in the middle of the night to get pigeons.”
He said issues of teens gathering outside his flat on the high street have continued since and are considerably worse on warmer evenings. He explained how throughout the summer months the gatherings are “constant”. Footage he’s taken also shows teens climbing onto his premises on numerous occasions for no apparent reason.
“On Tuesday I had people on my roof again,” he said. “Literally right above my head. It was the same last year.
"I can’t have my windows open sometimes because of the smell of cannabis coming into the flat. It makes me feel sick. It’s constant. I have to sit in the stifling heat in the flat because of that. I get this every day until late at night."
Gwent Police has used dispersal orders in the last year giving officers power to ban people from the area for 48 hours at a time, but Martyn said they haven't made a difference. “The police implement dispersal orders but they don’t work. I’ve gone out and challenged people for climbing over the fence and they just laugh at me and say I can’t do anything about it.”
On Friday evening Martyn said his drain pipes had been “ripped off” his wall on the side of the building. It isn’t the first time it’s happened, he claimed.
“The first time it happened was last year and I went to the council with photographs of the ripped off drain pipes and they got a contractor out to put a steel cover over the pipes. Then on Friday evening I heard smashing and cracking noises outside and the next thing I saw them with two and a half metres of my drain pipe they’d ripped off the wall again to try and get three footballs from the roof.
“I rang the police and then rang again on Saturday because they were out doing drugs and balloons outside Greggs. Then at around 7.30pm hundreds of them went up towards the castle and then I heard sirens. I know something happened up at the castle and then about 200 of them ended up back here in the centre throwing bottles and a fight started. I phoned the police again but they said it wasn’t a priority. I told the police I thought it was going to turn nasty and into a big brawl but it wasn’t taken seriously.
“A lot of people that live here would like to speak about it but they are reluctant because they don’t want the backlash. But I’ve really had enough of it.”
Martyn said many of his neighbours have decided to leave the area resulting in fewer reports to the police, but he doesn’t feel he should have to leave. “Why should I? I wanted to live here and I chose to live here and I shouldn’t be forced out.”
Ceno Man, who owns Papi’s Bistro on the high street, said anti-social behaviour outside his restaurant has had a significant impact on his trade. “It is a very big problem. We have issues with the kids smashing the windows and the chairs outside and the flower pots. They’ve even come with laser lights to pester the staff and customers inside.
“The police have tried to be present, especially on weekends, and there has also been a curfew to not let gatherings happen on Fridays and Saturdays in particular, but it’s still bad and can often be really bad. There has been fighting again this summer, smashing bottles etc.
“The major issue for us is how it really affects our trade. People are saying they are even scared to come to town. Not all of them are bad but there are some that are a huge nuisance for the people who are working and living here.”
Crime is at the top of the agenda in monthly meetings between Gwent Police, the town council and residents. Caldicot police sergeant Stephen Hayward said the reports the force has received are “completely unacceptable”.
“We recently received reports of anti-social behaviour including young people kicking footballs against properties and climbing on roofs and scaffolding in Caldicot town centre,” he said. “Anti-social behaviour and associated disorder is completely unacceptable and we understand the distress it causes our residents.
“We continue to work with our partners to address and resolve these concerns and encourage residents of Caldicot to keep reporting incidents of anti-social behaviour by calling 101 or contacting us directly on social media. We also can’t emphasise how dangerous it is to climb on scaffolding and roofs and urge parents to speak with their children who are putting not only themselves but others at risk.”
John Hughes, who has lived in the town since 1957, said he’s losing hope that things will improve for the town. “It all happens again every summer. They come down and cause trouble,” he said. “Often they’re riding these e-scooters and doing bloody wheelies and all sorts. I have a go at them, they’ve nearly hit me. It’s illegal to ride them on the pavement like that but they still do it. It’s getting really bad up here and not a lot is being done about it.”
Aaron Reeks of community organisation Caldicot Town Team said more needs to be done to help teenagers in the area out of petty crime. He’s currently constructing a skatepark at the back of the team’s store on Newport Road where he’ll also put sofas and phone charging points.
“There isn’t enough provision for these youngsters in Caldicot,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a lack of clubs as such but we need to remember that not everyone fits into a neat bracket, especially when they’re younger. We’ve worked on the skatepark area with young people who have helped to paint it. They’ve taken ownership of it.
“Kids will always mill around and some of them will cause trouble and I’m not for a minute saying that the residents affected by this aren’t correct to be annoyed. But I really think it can make a difference if these teenagers have something that they can call their own.
“The main benefit of us doing it rather than the council is that I can say quite frankly to them if you trash it I’ll take it all away. But I don’t think it’ll get to that.”
Caldicot mayor Maxine Mitchell said: “Police representatives and CCTV officers attended a Caldicot town council meeting on May 24 where anti-social behaviour was discussed and multi-agency meetings are ongoing. The county councillor appointed representative has taken the matter forward with the Police and Crime Commissioner.”
