Police beat sergeant Arron Wood attends St Thomas’s Church for public meeting to hear Lymington residents’ crime concerns

A DRUNKEN yob threatened to kill a terrified family on their boat at Lymington quay last week in one of a series of horrifying incidents told to a police beat sergeant during a public meeting in the town.

Sgt Arron Wood was at St Thomas’s Church yesterday (Thursday) evening to hear Lymington residents share their crime concerns, and was told a gang for the past eight weeks has “ruined” the beauty and tranquillity of the quay.

Lymington harbourmaster Ryan Willegers revealed a catalogue of incidents to Sgt Wood, including a youth brandishing what appeared to be a firearm and another smashing a live eel against the quay wall.

The gang have also been throwing objects – including heavy lures and hooks – at boats and crews, and shooting at them with catapults, said Mr Willegers.

They have been “intimidating and rude” to yacht owners, climbed on boats, urinated in public and openly used drugs, he said, adding they had trespassed on the pontoon and broke into washrooms.

Mr Willegers told Sgt Wood he had “repeatedly” reported the incidents to police; they did not respond to the family being threatened despite being called while the incident was happening.

They also took 90 minutes to turn up after the youth was spotted with “what appeared to be a firearm” adding: “By then he was long gone.”

Mr Willegers said Lymington was a “popular destination for visiting boats bringing important tourism business to the town”.

Last year more than 10,000 boats moored there, he said, but over the past two months there had been anti-social behaviour at the quay “most evenings”.

Mr Willegers said the trouble had started when a homeless couple camping on the quay were “regularly visited by a group of youths”.

He said the couple were “getting drunk as skunks and generally being loud and obnoxious late into the night” and, although they had now moved on, the youths were continuing the trouble.

Sgt Wood told Mr Willegers that the quay was “one of our ASBO hotspots”. He said approval had been given for overtime for officers and for them to swap day for night shifts so the area could be regularly patrolled.

He said: “We will deal with anyone acting in an anti-social manner.”

After the meeting, Mr Willegers told the A&T he was “pleased” with Sgt Wood’s response but added: “He is a good guy trying to do his very best, but his hands are tied. The police are being cut to the bone.”

He also described the recent incidents at the quay: “[The family] were sitting on their boat quietly enjoying themselves. This man was swearing and being obnoxious.

“The family politely asked him not to swear in front of their children, and he then said he was going to kill them and their family. They were very frightened and called 999, and were told by police they would not respond but an officer would be in touch with them.

“They had the incident on video which I saw the next day. Two of my officers then had a word with the male last Friday, and I have to say that since then there has been no more trouble and I am hoping it stays that way.”

“It is a group of five to six youths, who turn up two, or three at a time. What was most alarming was the handgun incident. A lady on a boat saw it and was adamant it was a firearm.”

He said that some yacht owners had decided to leave the harbour early after being targeted by the gang who he says normally hang out by the Berthon boatyard wall.

The situation had got so bad that no bookings were currently being taken for the eight berths nearest the quay, Mr Willegers said.