Bolton at Home, police and residents attend meeting to address 'lawless' area

The meeting, hosted by Greater Manchester Police and Bolton at Home, was held at Pikes Lane Community Hall on Monday (May 23) to address an array of issues in and around Langthorne Walk in Deane.

More than a dozen residents attended, while numerous others have had email correspondence with officers, but were unable to make the meeting.

Police and housing officers said they would work with residents in tackling the issues.

Issues highlighted in the meeting included recreational drug use, drug dealing and anti-social behaviour – and loud music being played, verbal and physical abuse to residents, littering.

The area where most of the activity is focussed

On resident said: “My dad is in a wheelchair. He’s scared to come out.”

Others recounted times their doors had been kicked in, and bikes speeding through the area, and one woman explained how she’s been physically attacked.

There were also reports of rat infestations as a result of the litter left by the gatherers.

One said: “Rubbish is being left from the takeaways they’re eating and it’s causing an infestation of rats. Is this even England? We’re already living in a run-down area. It’s lawless.”

Locals were noticeably frustrated and angry at what they describe is a lack of action from police, Bolton at Home – who own many of the properties in the area – and the council.

Litter left outside a residents house

They claim that these issues have been happening on a near daily basis over the last three years, or so – in fact The Bolton News reported on the same issues back in 2020.

This frustration led to talk of residents taking matters into their own hands – in fact on resident admitted the previously chased a group of people with a bat to scare them off.

One resident said: “We feel like we’ve been let down by everyone. Especially Bolton at home. They keep housing people they know take and sell drugs.

“It’s taking forever. It’s not good enough

“For the last 12 months I’ve been emailing back and forth. It’s always me chasing. And I just get told, ‘bear with us’. How long do we have to bear?”

Another said: “We’ve gone to Bolton at Home, we’ve gone to the police, we’ve gone to the council, we’ve gone to our MP, and nothing’s being done.”

Trevor McKean, Tenancy Enforcement Manager with Bolton at Home, said: “Tonight is a starting point. We’re starting new relationships.

“I’m looking to see if there are enough residents to meet regularly to discuss issues and implement plans.”

On issue he highlighted was that residents often do not want to be seen speak to them, or police, for fear of reprisals from the troublemakers.

“We have considered doing door knocks but didn’t because of these reasons,” he said. “We’ve had a mobile unit for people to come a speak to use but they don’t come to us.”

Greater Manchester Police say they have been encountering a number of issues when trying to tackle the problems - the area where the groups are congregating has multiple escape routes, and when they do catch people, they rarely have enough evidence to arrest anyone.

PC James McKeown and Sgt Tracy Tant

Sgt Tracy Tant said: “One of the problems we’re having is that when we search them, we’re only finding enough drugs for personal use, not enough for what we call possession with intent to supply.”

But they say the message is clear – report what is going on and officers will do all they can to fix the issues.

PC James McKeown said: “We need help from yourselves by reporting it to us. We need information because you’re there 24/7 and we’re not.

“That creates a job for me to do and to come and investigate. If you report it online, it gets logged.”

Sgt Tant added: “We need statistics to back it so I can go to my superiors to get something done. This is what I need from you. We need evidence.

“At the moment, with the evidence we’re getting, we’re getting nowhere near court.

“Whenever we’re on duty I have two police officers and two PCSOs for Rumworth and Deane. That’s a big area and not a lot of officers.

Sgt Tracy Tant and a PCSO in the affected area near Langthorne Walk

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “Tackling anti-social behaviour is a priority for the council.

“Issues like this can only be solved through a multiagency approach and we work closely with Greater Manchester Police, Bolton at Home and others.

“We are in regular contact with our partners so we can understand and respond to the concerns of local residents.”

Some of the potential solutions being considered include the addition of CCTV, fencing off certain areas, regular update meetings, a bigger police presence, pest control meetings and measures and residents committing to reporting crime more frequently.