COUNTY and district councillor Stuart Barker has called on the police to provide a quick response unit after a weekend of rowdy behaviour by youths in Buckfastleigh. Incidents left windows broken in the library, town hall, The Globe public house and a property in Plymouth Road. On Friday night alone, police logged 11 complaints as gangs of drunken youths numbering 15-20 roamed the streets shouting, swearing and intimidating residents. Cllr Barker said: 'We need a quick response for hot spots. 'If it takes police one-and-a-half hours to get there, the incident is gone, the witnesses are gone and the intimidation continues.' He said that anti-social behaviour had escalated over the last couple of weeks with the appearance in the town of a young man who had gathered a gang about him. 'There are two separate groups, the Goths and the Chavs, who are just having a little confrontation. 'The public wants to see some immediate short-term action. Every time you talk to a policeman all they want to talk about is resources. I am getting very frustrated.' A Plymouth Road resident, who asked not to be named, said he had witnessed youngsters kicking footballs as a weapon at buildings. 'Among the group there are definitely a couple of hardened trouble-makers, who I don't believe are in any way interested in a resolution of their problems,' he said. l Turn to page 2 l From page 1 John Kimberley of Fore Street also claimed that police are not proactive enough and youngsters appear to act with impunity. 'Buckfastleigh suffers from a yob culture that runs rife in the town.' Last Thursday at 10pm, Mr Kimberley saw a teenage girl lying on her back in the middle of Fore Street. As he approached to see if she was all right, a young man ran forward and kicked her. 'I grabbed him and got a torrent of verbal abuse and threats of violence. He's going to catch me and sort me out when no one's about, apparently,' said Mr Kimberley. He said he reported the matter to police on their general enquiry number the following morning but did not get a log number. He also left a message for local beat manager, PC Alison Hooper, but six days later had still received no reply. Giacomo Ferrero, who owns Deliciozo snack shop, also witnessed the incident and confirmed that it was 'absolutely normal' for what is going on. 'They are always there. Last Friday there were about 20, all shouting. The girls are worse than the boys,' he said. Mr Kimberley said that he identified the 'irate young female' who broke a window of The Globe pub to police, who spoke to her parents. As far as he was aware, the Globe had received no compensation for the damage. At the time of going to press, the landlord of The Globe was unavailable for comment. 'The girl should be dealt with. What level of crime has she got to commit before she is dealt with? We would like to see a lot more proactive policing,' he said. Mr Ferrero also pronounced himself unsatisfied at the level of policing. 'We just see the police car passing by at 10am. That is no good,' he said. Police spokesman, PC Terry Hodgson, acknowledged the frustration of people suffering from anti-social behaviour but said that police need a people to come forward as witnesses, so that they could establish a clear trail of evidence. 'The court won't accept what are whispers, which basically always seems to be the case when it comes to children.' Insp David Nott, in charge of said he could find no log for the April 27 incident. 'If people witness an incident which they feel necessitates police attendance, they should ring 999 in an emergency or 08452 777444 for more general matters. We will attend. People must understand that if leaving a message for an officer, that officer will pick it up when they are next on duty.' These latest incidents comes days before representatives of the youth club, Bungalow Youth Project, police, councillors and others are due to discuss what can be done to deal with anti-social behaviour. The meeting is to be held at the Town Hall on May 8.

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