A Middlesbrough resident has spoken of living in “pure fear” as gang crime and anti-social behaviour have swept through the town.
The man, who has been given the pseudonym David to protect his identity, told GB News he feared reprisals against himself and his family if his identity was revealed.
Middlesbrough has been gripped by a wave of crime following the death of seven people, including two police officers, in last week’s A66 crash.
“The reason I want to remain anonymous is fear. Pure fear because of reprisals, of what will happen to me and my family,” David began.
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“I could imagine within 24 hours I would have a car parked in front of my house. I could even have their windows smashed and my car will disappear.”
“This isn’t a society we should be living in, where you fear that your children may be harmed when they go out and play with their friends down the park.”
“We’ve got this lawless society marauding around the town and there’s no control over them.”
His comments come amid growing concern over crime in Middlesbrough, with recent incidents including vehicles being driven into homes and serious violence linked to criminal gangs.
David said the situation had been building for years and criticised the decision to bring in an additional 200 officers to support Cleveland Police.
“It’s a sticking plaster on a major bleed on an artery,” the resident said.
“The government, you really need to rethink what we need in not just Middlesbrough, probably every town up and down the country.”
He argued that authorities needed to tackle low-level anti-social behaviour before it developed into more serious criminality.
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“We don’t address the root cause, which is low-level anti-social behaviour,” he said.
David claimed gangs were then able to exploit young people, drawing them into criminal activity through gifts and money.
“They’ll go and buy them a nice pair of £90 trainers and make a nice £120, £150 tracksuit, even provide them with a mobile phone,” he said.
“They’ll groom them. Then they’ll get them to do their dirty work, and they’ll sit there and get away with it.”
David also described the fear surrounding knife crime in the town.
“These people are walking around. They’re carrying knives. They’re threatening people on a daily basis. You could be stabbed to death in the street. There’s the fear.”
“People I know that don’t go out. They don’t let the kids out at night. They keep them locked up,” he said.
Asked to sum up the future of Middlesbrough in one word unless the situation changed, David gave a stark response: “Don’t.”
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