A COMMUNITY has called for action to deal with anti-social behaviour which they say is blighting their lives.

People living in Mill Hill, Blackburn, said they have been terrorised by yobs kicking in doors, hurling bricks at windows and vandalising a play area.

Concerns have also been raised about ‘filthy’ streets and paving slabs being removed from roads including Bonsall Street and Herschell Street.

Locals said they feel ‘let down’ by the police and council and have demanded the problems be addressed.

One resident, Nathan Grogan, 26, said policing has dropped dramatically to the point where it is ‘no longer safe to walk to the shop’ due to a rise in crime.

He said: “I don’t feel safe to walk to the shop without the fear of getting stabbed or jumped on by a group of youths.

“You’ve also got kids kicking in doors and hurling bricks and vandalising the play area.

“The streets are filthy as no-one comes to clean them and flooring slabs have been removed from roads.”

“We just feel let down by the council and police whose numbers have dropped dramatically despite an increase in crime.

“I’m actually going to be moving out of the area as I’ve had enough and feel forced out.”

Cllr Damian Talbot, who represents the area on Blackburn with Darwen Council said the council and police have worked to address the problems.

He said: “I’ve very aware of these concerns. To tackle the environmental issues, the council had wagons on Saturday visiting the area where residents can disperse of bulky items for free, while we also have community payback teams who carried out blitzing sessions to clean back alleys of rubbish.

“We’ve also used CCTV to catch fly-tippers. The council is also working closely with local neighbourhood policing teams to tackle crime.”