Bury St Edmunds’ Howard Estate plagued with youth crime with Christmas decorations vandalised and staff at The New Bury Community Centre threatened
A Bury St Edmunds estate has been plagued with youth-related crime, with Christmas decorations being vandalised and staff at a community centre being threatened.
At a Bury St Edmunds Town Council meeting last Wednesday, a trustee of the New Bury Community Centre on the Howard Estate raised concerns about young people disrupting businesses within the centre.
Meanwhile, a founding member of a community group has decided not to put up the communal Christmas tree at the St Olaves shopping precinct because a group of three youths has been targeting residents’ decorations and causing damage.
Tom Murray, a trustee of the community centre, has said young people have been riding around on bikes and scooters inside, jumping on furniture and causing mayhem and damage. He added that a member of staff at the café has been threatened.
“These young people seem to think they can come in and misbehave which they can’t,” he said.
“We don’t want it to spoil it for everyone else. I’ve had a few complaints from people that they’re worried about damage to their cars at night. I want to nip it all in the bud.”
The community centre will now be hosting three free courses – steel drumming, graffiti as art and DJing – to ensure young people feel included. Tom said he also hopes CCTV will be used more effectively to catch young people in the act.
Johnny Chandler, a founding member of the Howard Estate Green Hearts, announced on social media that the Christmas tree, which has been a festive feature for the past three/four years, will not be going ahead this year due to a spate of incidents where householders' decorations have been cut or damaged.
“The tree is going to be a prime target like 11/11.30 at night when it’s dark. I think it’s going to cause more pain than good because people put decorations on from loved ones who have passed. We don’t want that grief.”
“I blame the street lights because they are rubbish. It’s a prime thing for kids to go around pulling lights and cutting wires.”
Officers are aware that a group of three teenagers have been damaging Christmas decorations in people’s gardens.
