Living in Peterborough’s northern villages – most of us never encounter anti-social activities such as general vandalism and intimidating behaviour experienced by some of our neighbouring communities in and around Peterborough.
However, due to recent events it may be that our peaceful village-life is beginning to change. Since early summer, some of the hirers of Helpston Village Hall have been on the receiving end of constant outbursts from a variety of young people. Examples of these are:
1) Running up and down the side of the Hall, banging on the windows and shouting. On one occasion this resulted in one of the windows being broken.
2) Throwing stones at the windows
3) Running in and out of the corridor and running into the hall
4) Shouting and yelling at those using the hall.
While some of you reading this may categorise these activities as ‘high spirits’ and ‘a bit of fun’ there is concern that this behaviour could escalate into something more unpleasant. A photograph in the Tribune shows a piece of wood which was being brandished by one of these young people several weeks ago and was subsequently dropped as he ran out of the hall.
Apart from the general feeling of unease felt by those hiring the hall, the further consequences of this disruptive behaviour may be that our current users choose not to hire the hall anymore, resulting in a significant loss of income to the village. It is not just the village hall which has been affected. Recently the Blue Bell has had windows broken on two separate occasions and while that may be wholly unrelated to what is happening at the hall, it is not unrealistic for people to wonder if they are connected.
The purpose of this article is not to finger point or to apportion blame, we need to recognise as a village that this is occurring and how do we deal with it? Do we ignore it and hope it will go away or do we, as responsible parents, start to ask relevant questions of ourselves and our children. We regularly hear “but there is nothing to do in the village” and while we acknowledge that, it doesn’t give permission for some young people to behave in this way.
We are currently looking into what is on offer for young people and what we, as a community, would have to undertake if we wanted to try and provide something in the village for them – so watch this space.
The aim of this piece is purely to raise awareness and to ask for your support. With your help we are looking to resolve this problem without having to resort to reporting these incidents to an official body. We all benefit from our peaceful surroundings and are certain that we would all like it to remain so.
The Committee, Helpston & Etton Community Association
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