Youths targeting Sway ‘stealing alcohol and taking drugs on Jubilee Field’
A gang of youths targeting Sway have been stealing alcohol before drinking it and taking drugs on Jubilee Field “then going on the rampage”, a resident has claimed.
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I believe they are out of the area because they seem to arrive by train, probably from New Milton.
“Then they go into the Co-op and brazenly take what they want. They then go to the fields and get themselves fired up with booze and drugs before going on the rampage through the village before taking the train home.”
As the A&T reported, this week a car was badly damaged at the weekend by the gang who threw large stones at the vehicle and a house in Kitchers Close.
It is the latest in a series of incidents stretching back over a year in what was among the quietest villages in the Forest.
The man said he had noticed an “escalation” in the gang’s activities in recent months: “The stones they threw at the weekend were pretty large weapons.
“If they had hit someone, they could have seriously injured them. It is getting prettying worrying, and something needs to be done to tackle this problem.”
The resident said he has approached the parish council about having CCTV put up in the village to deter the yobs but was told: “They don’t have the money to do that.”
He is now urging the council to set up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme “as soon as possible”. He suggested residents get together and form a WhatsApp group so they could warn each other when trouble is happening.
He said: “I don’t think anyone should confront the youths, I think that might only encourage them as they would probably see it as fun and also would be dangerous for someone to do.
“But we do need a Neighbourhood Watch, which the council said was going to be brought in, but we are still waiting.”
New Forest officers will be patrolling the village this weekend. Sgt Leigh Brown has revealed that shift patterns have been changed to allow officers to step up their presence in Sway and collect intelligence on what has been going on.
He said: “It will give residents a chance to tell them face-to-face the background to all this and where it is happening so they can target those areas.
“If you see us out and about please come over for a chat, it’s a good way for me to learn about your concerns and what you feel like we need to be doing more of.”