A PCSO has described the moment that a group of children on bikes surrounded her car and started kicking her vehicle in a terrifying attack in Leeds.
Julie Rice, from Manston, spoke to LeedsLive about the incident, which happened as she was driving along the western edge of Manston Park, Cross Gates.
She was travelling in her own car at around 5pm on a dark night in January and making her way back home from a shift when she noticed a number of bikes approaching her.
"I was going along the side of the park," she said.
"They were on their bikes and got either side of my car. They then tried to kick my car.
"I felt intimidated.
"I'm a PCSO so I deal with anti-social behaviour everyday, but when it's to yourself and your personal belongings you look at it slightly differently."
'It's got 100 times worse in the last couple of years'
Julie was speaking at a community meeting in Cross Gates - the second this year after a spate of crimes and violent incidents in the area.
The first was called by Katrina Slater and Sharon Glynn, who jointly run the Facebook group Crossgates Present, Past and Future, and saw around 150 residents turn up to tell local councillors, police representatives and anti-social behaviour teams about their experiences.
The second meeting, hosted at the Barnbow pub on Thursday, March 5, saw many of the same faces turn out again to find out what had been done in the month since the first crisis meeting was called.
"The kids think they can get away with what they want," said Julie. "Up until now they have done.
"It is an issue. You see the things on Facebook and you read what's happening to other people.
"It's got 100 times worse in the last couple of years. I've lived round here for 15 years and it's now getting really bad. It's a nice area and we don't need this."
CSI Steve Cotter, Leeds District Commander, told the meeting that the force is proactively working with a number of other bodies in a bid to bring the anti-social behaviour under control.
"Can I just burst some myths?" he said. "If anyone thinks that West Yorkshire Police is going to solve any of these issues on our own, it is not going to happen. We need your help."
A number of initiatives have been stepped up in recent weeks to try and solve the issues.
CCTV images have been shared with all local schools to identify the children involved and drop-in sessions have been set up to try and encourage youngsters to stay off the streets.
Plain clothes police officers even arrested a teenager on suspicion of carrying an air rifle on a bus in east Leeds as part of a covert operation to crackdown on anti-social behaviour.
Since early February, members of the Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team have issued 75 prohibition notices and while 59 of these have been adhered to, 16 youngsters are continuing to cause problems in the area.
"There's a core of young people causing the majority of the issues," said DCI Cotter.
"We need to identify the ringleaders and clamp down on it once and for all."
If anyone witnesses instances of anti-social behaviour in Cross Gates, they should contact West Yorkshire Police on 101. You can also contact the local neighbourhood policing team by emailing innereast@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.
