A MOTHER-OF-SIX alleged her sons had been threatened with a 'baseball batting' by neighbours after being wrongly accused of terrorising an area of Burnley.

Julie Hawke said other large families on the new Mountree Fold Housing Estate had also been wrongly blamed for trouble in adjoining Abel Street.

She claimed estate families had been threatened and excluded from public meetings to discuss vandalism and muggings which have blighted the district.

Police swooped on the estate, making public order arrests after angry residents warned: "Take action against offenders or we will."

Ward councillors and members of the newly-formed Abel Street Action Committee also demanded action from estate owners, Bradford and Northern, to remove problem families. They claimed windows had been smashed, property damaged, people threatened and two elderly people mugged.

But Mrs Hawke of Grey Street said the estate was being victimised and youngsters falsely accused.

"The public meeting could have sorted things out but we were not invited.

"Windows were smashed and houses damaged and burned out long before this estate was built."

She claimed no-one had even attempted to gather proof on the identity of those responsible for the crimes.

"We sympathise with elderly people in the surrounding area who are too frightened to walk the streets at night.

"But many of our children stay on the estate after dark and have alibis for most of the attacks."

Mrs Hawke said parents were doing all they could to keep children under control but problems should be discussed openly and together.

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