81-year-old man in Newark, Nottinghamshire attacked by youths

An 81 year-old-man who was attacked by two youths in the town centre has raised concerns about what he sees as an increase in anti-social behaviour.

The man who wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisals said that he had lost faith in the authorities ability to deal with the situation.

The man said that he had previously spoken to police about the anti-social behaviour who told him there was nothing they could do about the issue.

The man also claims that police have not responded to incidences in the past.

"What has bothered me most was the lack of follow-up from the police," said the man.

"I was annoyed that they never got in touch with me when they were contacted in the past, they seemed like they didn't care so I dropped it."

The latest incident occurred when the man approached the youth who were breaking glass on a residential drive way in town.

"I was concerned someone could drive over it and get flat tyres," said the man.

"These youth also hang out the back of the building and this causes us security concerns.

"This is our home and we don't want kids doing stuff like this because they feel like they can away with it."

The man approached the youths and tried to find out who was responsible for smashing the glass.

They then levelled profanities at the man and the situation escalated when the man told them to clean up the mess.

The youth — who the man said were about nine-years-old — then struck the man several times in the stomach.

The man said that passersby intervened and the situation calmed down.

The man said people feel helpless because the situation seems to be getting worse.

"There is nothing the average people can do," he said.

"What are these youth going to be like in a few years?

"I would like to see something done in this town to protect the people, what is being done to the offenders who are causing these problems?"

"It makes me angry because I know there are things that could be done that aren't being done and I am wondering what is being done?"

The man said a more visible police presence on the streets and police being more available at night would help the situation.

"My understanding is that at times police have to come from further away, from places like Mansfield.

"I hope that I have a few more years left here and I don't like what is happening," said the man.

"I think that anti-social behaviour is a blight on the town.

"We live in a lovely town and it is such a shame that this stuff is happening not just at night now but also during the day.

"It is becoming quite blatant."

The man said that he believed the problem was getting worse and that citizens needed to be more involved by the authorities to help find solutions.

"I think we need to get some people with common sense and find out what is going on that is causing these problems to continue getting worse?

"I have lived around 15 years in Newark, and it has changed a lot.

"These changes have not been for the better.

"Before, it was just a normal town with some problems.

"Now, it is at the point where there has never been so much in-your-face violence."
Nottinghamshire Police were approached for comment.

“Tackling antisocial and nuisance behaviour is a priority in Newark but we realise we still need to do more,” said Sergeant Robert Harrison, of the Newark Neighbourhood Policing Team.

“To this end with now have additional officers patrolling the town centre to provide an additional deterrent for the small minority of people who behave in this way.

“Newark is great place live in, work in and visit and we want to keep it that way.

“To do this effectively we need people to tell us what is happening in their communities and who is responsible.

“Once we know that and I have identified offenders we have a range of tools at our disposal to hold perpetrators to account.

“In addition to criminal prosecutions, these options can include civil court orders that prohibit people from doing certain things or even being in certain areas.

“We have recently secured three such injunctions against local teenagers and are in the process of securing more.

“We are also using local powers to immediately disperse youths behaving in an antisocial manner.”