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'We'd be safer living in Belfast'

27/ 6/2002

A MOTHER believes her family would be safer living in Belfast than on their Blackley estate.

Mother-of-two Debra Walsh, originally from Ulster, compared the Manchester district to the troubled province after becoming the target of a reign of terror by youths living around the Lander Grove area.

She said: "The kids around here are terrible. They just run around wild and abuse me and my family. I cannot go on living here. It is worse than living in Belfast."

Since she moved to Blackley six weeks ago, Mrs Walsh has had her car vandalised, windows smashed, numerous burglaries and countless threats of violence to her family.

"My son was threatened to be stabbed and my daughter is terrified to go outside in case she gets attacked by these yobs," she said. "They have also had pellets shot at them quite a few times. This is not normal behaviour. The police have been around a few times but I do not know who is doing it and the kids disappear as soon as they arrive."

Mrs Walsh has been forced to install CCTV equipment, costing £250, and shutters on her windows to prevent youths from attacking her home. And Mrs Walsh blamed Manchester City Council for her family's predicament.

She said: "They put me in the first dump they could find. I have been complaining about the place since I moved but they have done nothing to help me find a new one. I have even told them about houses I have seen available but they say they haven't got anywhere else."