Yob gang targets club (From Penarth Times)

Yob gang targets club

THE OLD Penarthians Rugby Club appears to be the new target for anti-social yobs.

Clare Hooper, social secretary at the club, said: "We have been having serious problems with a gang of youths congregating in the park near the club for some time.

"They have been intimidating members of the club and local residents with some appaling yobbish behaviour.

"It seems they are coming here because they have been moved on from other parts of Penarth like the leisure centre and Alexandra Park.

"Anything up to 30 youths aged between 10 and 16 have been meeting up at the park. It has been going on since the summer on week nights as well as weekends.

"Last Friday they took a wheely bin full of empty bottles out of a locked compound and smashed them all over our pitch where the junior teams were due to play the next day," she added.

"They get on to the roof of our building and have smashed windows in the clubhouse building. We also had a break-in to our premises recently.

"Cars in our car park have also been damaged on a number of occasions and car windows have been smashed.

"The group has been very abusive towards members of staff who have tried to move them from our premises. I know a lot of elderly residents living in the area feel very intimidated.

"We are now working with community police officers to try to find a solution to the problem."

Jane Wilkinson, whose daughter works on the bar at the club, said: "My son goes to the club because his sister works there and in the past nine months he has had his car windows smashed twice.