PEOPLE on a Witney estate are calling for action in a bid to stop a gang making their lives a misery – with some too worried to call the police.

Residents in Thorney Leys, near to Burwell Hall, between the Burwell and Thorney Leys estates, said the group of teenagers had been causing problems for the past six months.

Police stepped in at the start of October last year and issued nine Anti- social Behaviour Contracts to some of the main offenders.

Six of the ABCs were lifted in January, with three remaining on the most persistent offenders.

However, the group continues to cause trouble, according to residents.

Pensioner Georgina Dominy said her life had been made a “misery” and she sits in darkness in her home in the evenings, too scared to turn on the lights.

Mrs Dominy, 65, said: “If the lights are off it looks like I’m not home and they don’t tend to bother me.

“I’ve had all sorts of abuse, calling me names, banging on my doors, throwing stones at my window. One lad even dropped his trousers and flashed at me.”

Mrs Dominy said in the past week she had called police twice, because of the behaviour of the gang.

“I feel as though I’m being driven out of my house by these kids. I don’t want to move, but it’s getting hard to stay.”

Police were also called last Thursday when a group of teenagers disrupted an art class for elderly residents in Burwell Hall. By the time officers arrived, the troublemakers had left.

Mrs Dominy added: “The problem is, some people are too scared to even call the police. They think it will make it worse.”

Lindy Gough, who lives next door to Mrs Dominy, is also a target for the gang – which can vary in size from between eight and 12 boys and youths, aged from about 13 to 17.

Mrs Gough said: “Where my kitchen window looks out on to the street, whenever I’m washing up they think that I’m looking out at them and come up to the window and shout abuse at me.

“There’s an alley that runs alongside mine and Georgina’s house that they are always running up and down.

“I’ve had stuff taken from my back garden and the other night I had people banging on my door and running away every 10 minutes for three hours.”

Businesses in the shopping parade opposite Burwell Hall said they were fed up of the gang loitering outside.

Abdul Chaudhury, manager of the Bengal Spice restaurant, said: “It’s not nice having a gang of kids hanging around outside all the time. It can put people off coming down here.”

Pc Duncan Johnson, the neighbourhood officer for the area, said a lot had been done to tackle antisocial behaviour on the estate in the past six months.

From October to December there were 34 reports of antisocial behaviour and 16 of criminal damage.

Pc Johnson said this had dropped to 12 and six incidents respectively in the period from January to March.

He said: “This particular area is one that is near the park and the parade of shops, so it does attract groups of youths as a meeting area.

“We will be stepping up patrols in this area and maintaining a high visibility presence which we hope will deter any further antisocial behaviour.”

He said that any resident who felt they were the target of antisocial behaviour, or were being threatened in any way, should call the police immediately.

witney@oxfordmail.co.uk