A quaint town has become plagued by violent teenagers who have attacked elderly women, smashed windows, set public toilets alight and take drugs on the street, it has been claimed.
Crook, in County Durham, was once a thriving market town but its residents are now too scared to set foot in the centre as “out of control” teens vandalise local businesses and terrorise residents.
The unruly youths have thrown bricks at bus drivers, smashed the glass in the bus stop and smeared graffiti around.
A number of businesses have boarded up windows due to windows being broken, a local chemist has had every single window put out by the youths.
Residents have also had to put up with gangs of 10-15 teenagers drinking and taking drugs in the centre on an evening, which intimidates shoppers and passers by.
The local toilets have been boarded up due to the thugs setting it alight, in view of the local police station.
Furious residents have called for action from police as they fear the gangs are out of control.
Andy Palmer moved to Crook four years ago to care for his elderly mother.
The 44-year-old said: “It’s getting worse and worse. The kids have no respect for authority or the police and there’s no consequences for their actions.
“I grew up in London on death mile, in Hackney, and there was respect there but there’s none here.
“I have six children aged one year to 14 and I don’t let them out here. I would rather they played out in Hackney.
“The kids smash windows and are violent. I was in the centre the other day and I saw a woman in her 60s who said they had attacked her.
“There was another elderly woman who was attacked by the gangs and she had a broken arm and bruises on her face.
“The police station is open between 11am and 3pm four days a week, as if crime stops after three.
“Something needs to be done but the police and teachers are too scared to do anything.”
Joan Clement, 76, has lived in Crook her entire life and says the state of the town centre has declined over the last six months.
The retired shop worker said: “I’ve lived here my whole life and it’s rapidly gone downhill. It makes me really upset as this is my home town and I hate to see it this way.
“The parents aren’t doing anything about it.
“They threw a brick at a bus driver, what would they have done if they killed him?
“This has gone on for six months now and there’s no repercussions for their actions.
“They’ve smashed the windows of numerous businesses. They don’t have to pay anything for the damage and they don’t care about the cost to them.
“Our lovely park is now filled with drugs. It doesn’t surprise me to hear they’ve been violent.
“They congregate in the centre on an evening, there’s about 10-15 of them. It’s intimidating to walk past.
“It’s a small minority but they are ruining it for everyone else.”
Local Alan Longstaff, 72, added: “There’s no controlling them. The police need to be doing something about all of this.
“The teenagers stand near the bus stop around 7-9pm and you can overhear tales of what they’ve drank and what they’ve taken.
“The drug taking is rife and they get violent among themselves.
“I can imagine the elderly population is scared of them. They’re a nuisance and are smashing shop windows and the bus stop.”
Ken Gardener, 81, a retired national trust worker said: “They’ve smashed bottles on the streets and they smash windows.
“People are hesitant to come into the centre, especially on a night.
“You feel for the local businesses because they’re losing customers as a result. Where I live, which is just outside of Crook, there was children skateboarding outside.
“When I told them it was private property you get a mouthful and they were only 10-12 years old.
“It’s the youth these days, you can’t say anything to them. There needs to be more done by authority to stop them.
Another resident, who did not want to be named, added: “They smashed up the bus station last night.
“I walk my dog next to the bus stop so it’s a bit annoying. It’s a group of teenagers that are doing it.
“I think they just don’t have anything to do. There should be a community centre or something for them to hang around in.”
Another elderly resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “It’s annoying when you see the bus stop has a smashed window as it doesn’t look very nice.
“There’s also been a few times where some of the bricks in the wall outside my house have been taken but they do it at night so you can’t say for certain who it is.
“It makes me really sad to hear as Crook has always been a lovely place.
“It’s the parents and the way they’ve been raised.
“I think there’s just nothing for teenagers who are too old to play at the park but too young to go to the pub.”
