“FERAL” kids armed with chainsaws and knives are said to be making life hell for young families on a lawless estate.
Shocking footage given to The Sun shows a young boy wielding the huge power saw above his head – with residents fearing nothing can be done.
An 11-year-old boy is seen wielding a chainsaw on the estate[/caption]
Sheryl Young says she confiscated this knife off a five-year-old child[/caption]
Children are being blamed for an alleged litany of anti-social behaviours, including abuse of animals, breaking windows, bullying and outrageous invasions of privacy.
We have also seen other footage showing a rabbit being thrown around a garden by a group of very young children.
The Sun understands the animal has since been rescued and lives with a different family.
One anxious mum even showed pictures of a knife she says she confiscated from a five-year-old who was wielding it around as he played with pals.
Call operator Sheryl Young, 46, who was among the first to move onto the small estate in Sinfin on the edge of Derby in April, said: “It is such a shame because these are really nice properties and we were all excited to move in.
“But it has just been horrendous. Some of the kids are feral. I am on the ground floor and have had children staring into my bedroom.
“I feel like I cannot open my windows but why should I have to keep them closed on a nice day.
“We’ve had kids throwing stones at pets, uprooting all the nice landscaping they’ve put in, firing pellet guns, waving chainsaws around.
“The RSPCA even got involved because of mistreatment of a rabbit.
“We were told when we moved in it was ‘one strike and you’re out’ but clearly that doesn’t apply.”
The Sun has approached the RSPCA for confirmation.
The mini-estate, featuring 75 homes of varying sizes, of which 45 are for rent and 30 for shared ownership, was completed by Nottingham Community Housing Association, earlier this year.
Everyone spoken to by The Sun agreed that it is an ideal place to bring up children because it’s set well back from the main road and offers a safe space for youngsters to play.
But that has not stopped a culture war erupting with allegations of racism being made by all sides.
Cindy Mosley, 58, who lives with her 10-year-old mixed-race granddaughter, said relations quickly soured with her neighbours.
“We felt so lucky moving in here,” she said. “We’d been homeless for 18 months living in a one-bed flat and this is a beautiful estate with beautiful homes and, as you’d expect, the children started playing together on the street.
“My granddaughter told me that other girls had started pulling her hair and being horrible to her so I spoke to their mother who was just dismissive.
“It happened four times and in the end I told Sienna she should give their hair a little tug. Then the mum came round shouting at me and I said it was best if the children didn’t play together any more.”
In the footage, the boy is seen holding the chainsaw above his head[/caption]
Cindy went on to say: “What we have is parents who take zero responsibility and when you go to speak to them they say they can’t speak English.
“Things have gotten so bad with the abuse directed at my granddaughter that I have had to report it to the police because no child should have to put up with it.
“Some of the behaviour is terrible. We had an 11-year-old brandishing a chainsaw to intimidate us, we’ve had stones thrown at our cat, and children abusing other children.
“I went out for my birthday and I could see a dozen kids hanging around my house on my Ring doorbell.”
No residents spoken to by us were aware of the “toilet” claim but kids as young as four were seen walking around without a parent.
Mum-of-three Tamzon Barnes, 31, said her nine-year-old son, who has autism, had been subject to horrible bullying.
“When we first moved in he got stones and rocks thrown at him by a group of them.
“On one occasion, he had a stick and another boy kicked it out of his hand and managed to scar him really badly with it.
“I was out with my three-year-old. He sat on another little boy’s bike and got told, ‘you’re built differently, you shouldn’t be in this world’.
“We have had the glass panel on our house broken. There are just no boundaries, no rules and their parents don’t seem to care.”
The chainsaw-wielding youth turns around as another child rides towards him on a scooter[/caption]
Sheryl Young was among the first people to move onto the estate[/caption]
Tina, a mum-of-two who came to Britain from Eastern Europe, said: “There was an incident in May when the children were outside playing and this little boy, he was five or six, had a serrated kitchen knife with him.
“I was scared. I took it off him and snapped it. I don’t mind kids playing – it’s good for them but there have to be rules. Some of the plants which were meant to become hedges have all been ripped up.”
Natalie Wolverson, 33, a customer support manager, moved into one of the shared ownership properties in August with her rescue dog Lupin.
She said: “My dog was a source of fascination. I had kids ringing my doorbell several times an hour, making the dog bark. It’s not great when you’re working from home.
“One day I was weeding at the front with the dog and a group of very young children wanted to stroke him.
“That was fine but the next thing they’d gone around into my back garden and I found three under 10s in my kitchen.
“There are never any adults around and that is a concern.”
Residents say that during the summer, youngsters, some little more than toddlers, were left out on the street until late at night.
Tamzon added: “Our Ring doorbell went off at 9.30 one night, we went outside and there was a two-year-old on the doorstep. He was visiting the house next door and had just wandered out.
“When we took him back they weren’t grateful and didn’t seem bothered.”
This rabbit was rescued after footage showed children throwing it round like a football[/caption]
Natalie Wolverson stepped in to save the rabbit[/caption]
Inevitably, the bitterness has spilled onto Facebook.
One dad, angry at the allegations being made, wrote: “These are all lies and deceptions. All they’re doing is being racist.”
Cindy Mosley responded: “It’s nothing to do with race or colour. Some families are lovely. Jump down off the race card, my friend.”
She added: “Mine is supervised just so these vile ppl can’t hit her or swear at her or bully her or call her vile names. I’ve shown their mother footage and she does nothing because she encourages it.”
The Sun spoke to some of the parents whose children were at the centre of the allegations.
One said that she could not speak English but others said they felt they were being discriminated against.
A 38-year-old mother-of-three, originally from Morocco, said: “I have two teenagers and an eight year old. The younger one sees other children playing and wants to join them.
“It is a safe place. I can see what they are doing from my window but now I am worried to let him out because these other adults want to take videos of them and send it to housing.
“If they wanted to solve things they would come and speak to us, not report us and go to the press.
“It makes us very uncomfortable. I feel it is racism against immigrants.”
Natalie Wolverson, with dog Lupin, said she found children had broken into her kitchen[/caption]
The remains of a hedge that was pulled out[/caption]
The Housing Association have now sent out a letter warning residents about anti-social behaviour[/caption]
Her teenage son added: “When I go outside I feel people staring at me and that is not good. I feel they are trying to get us out.”
Another mother of two, who wanted only to be known only by her initials, DE, said: “They won’t let their children play with our children and that’s sad. My daughters are six and eight and they have been abused.”
The woman added: “We are all busy people. I have a job and can’t be outside all the time with my daughters. You have to let them play.
“They gather and gossip about us and when their children are outside until late at night, that’s fine but if it’s our children then they report it.”
The allegations of racism, however, are not one-way.
Nikita, 32, a mixed-race woman, said: “I was walking to the shops behind a group of these young boys and heard one of them say, ‘turn round and say the n-word’. It happened and I went to their parents who played dumb.
“The boy said I had misheard and he’d actually said, ‘snickers’ but it sounded different because of his accent.”
Letters sent to all homes
The Housing Association have now sent out a letter to all the houses on the estate warning about anti-social behaviour from children.
It stated: “It is up to parents and guardians to ensure that children are supervised and that their children know to behave in a way that does not cause a nuisance or annoyance to other residents.
“Ultimately the responsibility for children’s behaviour lies with the tenant and if there are children who cause damage or are consistently being a nuisance the Tenancy Breach Warning letters will be issued.
“This is a lovely estate and I am sure you were all pleased and excited when you were allocated your house let us maintain the state so that you can live in an environment free from any issues.”
In a statement, Holly Dagnell, director of Homes and Wellbeing, said: “We completed our development off Goodsmoor Road in August this year, delivering 75 high-quality affordable homes for local families.
“As the new community settles in, we’ve received a number of complaints relating to children playing in communal areas and isolated instances of anti-social behaviour.
“Our dedicated Community Safety team, have been working closely with residents, educating families on acceptable play and supporting community cohesion. In June, we wrote to all residents to remind them of their responsibilities under their tenancy agreements, and we continue to work closely with a few families to offer tailored support.
“In September, we hosted a community event alongside local PCSOs to hear residents’ concerns directly and explore further ways to support the neighbourhood.
“Goodsmoor Road is a fantastic development, and the vast majority of residents are proud of their new homes and excited to be part of this growing community.
“This scheme was delivered in partnership with Derby City Council, and all homes have been let to people on the city’s housing waiting list.
“With over 8,000 people currently bidding for affordable homes via Derby Homes Finder, this development plays an essential role in meeting local housing need.”
A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police said: “We received two reports of public order offences relating to an incident in Pillbox Avenue, Derby, on 9 September. Investigations into the incidents are ongoing.
“Officers from the local Safer Neighbourhood Team have been working with the housing association and other partners to address issues which have been raised over recent months.”
