Shropshire village yobs moved on as police set up CCTV sting
Ten youths were ordered away from a Shropshire beauty spot after police set up a CCTV camera in a bid to catch vandals.
A gang of youngsters have been throwing stones at houses, shouting through letter boxes and throwing food at locals in Whittington, near Oswestry, police said today.
West Mercia Police set up a mobile CCTV camera in the village in a bid to put an end to the problem and have also stepped up patrols.
Oswestry Inspector Tracey Ryan said: “We’re still monitoring this situation, and we know it isn’t youths from the village, it is youngsters coming in from outside the village.
“We have installed CCTV and have some images and we are trying to identify the culprits in those images.
“We have tried the soft approach by trying to move people on and it hasn’t work so we may need to step up action.
“Patrols have been stepped up in the area and we hope this will put some residents at ease.”
Last month some elderly people in the village said they were being made to feel like hostages in their own homes as youngsters from outside the village were throwing stones and shouting through letter boxes.
West Mercia Police said that on Saturday 10 youths were moved off ground at Whittington Castle for swearing, abusing staff and throwing food at members of the public.
Council member for Whittington, county councillor Steve Charmley condemned the behaviour of some youths coming into the village.
And Inspector Ryan called for youths coming into Whittington to behave and respect locals.
She has now called for residents to come forward and report all incidents to help local police eradicate the problems from the quiet village.
She added “We have had extra patrols in the area in an attempt to stop this type of behaviour. And we hope the CCTV will be a deterrent for youngsters, but we need the public to report any incidents to us to find the culprits.
"When we do we will be approaching schools and parents, and we hope to stop the problem."
Anybody suffering from anti-social behaviour in the area should contact 101 in the first instance or 999 in an emergency situation.
