Yesterday I had reports of children creating mayhem at the 25 bus stop in High Street Wednesfield. A correspondent tells me that “ one around 15 yrs old, several no older than 10 were messing with busses at first, then spraying deodorant cans and lighting them, they then tried to burn the bus wheels ,then intimidating elderly people in the bus shelter by aiming the cans at the bus shelter and lighting them.”
My correspondent then said “If they only knew what damage they could’ve done to someone, and if the wind changed they could’ve been badly burnt.”. She goes onto say “ I really hope they get caught.”
I contacted West Midlands Police – Wednesfield team with my correspondents eye witness accounts, and suggested that our team should contact the Safer Travel Police Team and the bus company, as there was the possibility of the buses having forward facing cctv. Plus the High Street cctv could also have images of the actions taking place.
I received a response from Sgt Danher which informed me that . “ The team were on duty when this was reported, and responded to the scene. Officers identified the youths responsible, dealt with them at the scene and the matter is being investigated. The youths involved form part of a much bigger picture, which I am currently working in partnership with ASBU and child services to put in place long term measures.”
Sgt Danher went onto state “Can you please reinforce the need for people to report these matters as and when they are occurring. Reporting the matter post incident via the local councillor is not as impactive/effective as calling the Police at the time so we can respond then and there to deal with the matter, show a presence and deal with the suspects quickly. Luckily another member of the public did decide to take action and call us and we responded within minutes.”
So as a Local Councillor I want to first of all thank the Police for catching this gang of tearaways, they are obviously as much a danger to themselves as they are to the public, and the bus operation they were trying to interfere with. Can I also make a plea to my readers –
If you see a crime taking place please be bold and dial 999.
