As dark descends on one part of Merseyside, people are quick to clear the streets and head home.
Central Park in Liscard is a remarkably beautiful park with people fishing in the lake, walking the dog or playing football, but the second it becomes dusk, people clear and return home. Whether that's a sign of danger created by the spate of anti-social behaviour caused by a group of balaclava-clad yobs isn't determinable, but a number of people living close to the park live their lives in fear each passing day.
The ECHO has published a number of reports on the criminal and anti-social behaviour of the group, from kicking a mum's door down to patrolling streets in the middle of the night in an intimidating fashion. We revisited Leominster Road and Greenheys Road after two bikers wearing balaclavas circled the road at 4.50am on Sunday, August 14.
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At night the family-orientated Central Park, which neighbours a number of residential roads, is a haven for children during the summer holidays but it quickly becomes an intimidating maze used to hide from police, residents have previously claimed. One resident told the ECHO this week that when she woke up for work on Sunday she was met with balaclava-wearing bikers circling the street.
She said: "They came down the street at 4.30am and circled at the end of the street. I work in palliative care so I do long days, 12, 13 and sometimes 14-hour days. As they rode past my house, they looked at me. They knew I was awake.
"I don't know what they were doing but it looked like they were checking out the houses. I've had them trying my door handle and banging on my door before now. When you come home you want to relax. I leave my two children here and I'm always ringing them to check in on them."
The mum-of-two has lived on the road for two years and has said she never felt unsafe living on the tightly packed, car-lined road. But in the last 12 months the street, along with Greenheys Road, has been plagued with ongoing anti-social behaviour and intimidation from the gang.
Speaking about the number of incidents and altercations with the gang, she said: "It has increased. We've been in touch with the council about getting the entrance to the park at the end of the road closed off but we're yet to hear anything substantial back to be honest."
In response to the requests from people living in the area, a Wirral Council spokesperson said: "I can confirm we have been contacted by a resident asking about the possibility of restricting public access to Central Park from the Greenheys Road side. Our immediate priority, however, would be to work with colleagues in the Anti-Social Behaviour Team and the police to reduce any incidents of criminal and anti-social behaviour in this area."
The pleas to have that side of the park sealed off comes as residents have begun employing a private security firm, with one resident saying he wanted the added protection following a number of incidents in the area, one including a number of cars across the two streets being targeted in a spate of vandalism.
People can report anti-social behaviour either online at wirral.gov.uk, by calling 0151 606 2020 or by email to neighbour.nuisance@wirral.gov.uk. The phone line is open between 8.45am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, with an answerphone service provided out of hours. If you are a tenant of a registered housing provider, please contact them directly.
Always call 999 if a crime is in progress. You can pass any information on anti-social behaviour via our social media desk @MerPolCC on Twitter or 'Merseyside Police Contact Centre' on Facebook. You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information.
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