Children playing football have terrorised a residential Leeds street, with their balls smashing windows and destroying guttering and pipes.
One resident declared them “football crazy” with matches going on until the early hours and another said the level of football was awful and “just a nuisance”. One resident said she’s seen a boy climb through a smashed window to get his ball and then resumed playing.
They’re “dreading the holidays” when they suspect the kids will take to their street throughout all hours of the day. Residents living in fear of retribution have spoken out anonymously about the children, estimated to be between six and 15, in Broughton Terrace, Harehills.
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The neighbourhood has grown tired of having to pay for all the damage and all the constant noise of the football matches.
The children draw a chalk line across the road of Broughton Terrace to mark the pitch and play after school from about 4pm, say worried residents. The games generally go on until 11pm on weeknights and past midnight over the weekend.
One elderly woman who has lived there for more than 20 years said the matches are making her consider moving away. She’s reported it to West Yorkshire Police but says there’s not much they can do.
She added her neighbour even moved out after having her windows smashed in twice from a kicked ball.
She said: “This area has gone right down the swanny. We’ve got these families coming in and they’re playing football to midnight, fellas about 13-years-old. They’re breaking windows, getting their balls on the roofs and taking guttering down and a pipe on a wall has been knocked down.
“My neighbour had her windows smashed twice and she moved in the end, she said she ‘can’t stick it’. Sometimes they ask for the ball back and other times they’ve climbed in to get it.
“My gate was broken, my letter box. My son has taken my gate off, so he can put a new one on. All this is done at our expense.
“Most of them don’t even live on our street. We’ve got a 94-year-old, an 86-year-old and some in their 70s living here. It used to be a quiet street before this started happening.
“I’m dreading the holidays because schools out and they’ll be hitting our windows. They’re football crazy. It wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t hitting our windows or kicking it on the roof.”
'Nuisance'
Another man said: “Years ago there used be signs up which said ‘No ball games on this street’ then all of a sudden they just disappeared. It’s annoying that they’re kicking balls away and fighting to get the ball. There’s no clear distribution, it’s not a proper game of football. It’s just a nuisance.
“If they want to play ball games, they should go to the bloody park.”
Another woman said: “They were playing until 11pm last night! I had to shut my window for all the noise. The ball has hit my window before. When I am watching the telly, I knock on the window and tell them to get away. They’re a nuisance.
“It used to be lovely in this street until of these footballers turned up.”
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