A friend of ours has told us about something nasty they saw at Rayleigh Station last Wednesday between 6:30 and 7:00 pm:
“There were two groups of ‘youths’ gathering there, one about 20-strong, one of about 8 individuals. They were wearing hoodies and scarves but none looked older than about 16.
They were carrying items that could be used as weapons, like pieces of wood. There was some fighting, and one kid was beaten …”
It was reportedly on platform 2 and must have been quite intimidating for people arriving home from work. We wonder if the parents of the youths know what they were up to. If you know anything about this, let us know (by email or as a comment here) and we will pass your information on to the police.
UPDATE Weds 8th. The Echo has a report today here. Here’s part of it:
Detective Constable Dave Rabbit, from British Transport Police, said: ?It appears a group of about seven teenage boys, travelled from Wickford to Rayleigh where they were met by a group of about 20 other males of a similar age.
?An altercation took place on the platform, after which the smaller group got on a train.
?They are thought to have disembarked at Hockley.?
The fight took place at 6:45pm last Wednesday. Anyone with information can call 0800 405040 and quote incident number 503 of April 1.
Last week whilst taking my son to the park I walked past a group of eight boys all talking about something that had happend at the station, one of them mentioned a gun!!!
They all went quiet when they saw my son and I approaching, they wouldnt say anymore.
All I can confirm is that I saw them all walking by the top of Hatfield Road from the new housing estate that was built there.
I look in the Echo website to see if anything was reported but nothing!!!
Should the police not be contacting Sweyne and Fitz Schools to have a word with the children there!!
If this does not get sorted out soon someone is going to get hurt.
Last wednesday I was on my way to pick my fiancee up from the station, however was delayed by a few minutes.
When I arrived she dashed to the car and was looking very scared, the kids (and that is what they are) were all wearing gloves and carrying weapons (I saw a bike chain and baseball bat)
From what I know and can judge, I beleive these weren’t local kids, looked like they had just stepped of the train!!!!!
When I drove of I heard a number off police cars so they must of attended.
When I cycled out of Asda last night I noticed a large police wagon doing a tour of the carpark, I wondered if they were checking up on things in the area.
Whether these youths were local or not they are using Rayleigh as a battleground and at some time an innocent bystander will get hurt. Now, it may be baseball bat, a bit of wood or a chain, how long before its a knife or a gun? This has been building up for sometime now. I commute into London everyday and you would need to be blind not to notice how many youths congregate on the platforms, not going anywhere just abusing travellers as they are getting off the train! If the police and RDC do not put public order and anti-social behaviour at the top of the agenda Rayleigh will be the town of choice for gangs to compete against each other.
If the police find any of the youths involved in this fight maybe they should name and shame both the youth and the parents (oh I forgot, they would not be allowed to do that because of the Data Protection Act or the age of the youth or something like that!)
We need the police and the Council to stand up for the residents and not the yobs that are blighting our town. This kind of culture will soon catch on if there is not a strong reaction from the people in power!
We need the PARENTS of these youths to be named and shamed. I am fed up with parents not taking rsponsibility for their offspring. It is time for the parents to stop whining about not being able to control their children. The courts should be allowed to take action against these parents, then we may see some positive action taking place. However, the Council and the police must also help the parents who honestly need helped to control their children.
This may explain the extremely high volumes of police in and around the High Street last week. I cannot recall if it was Tuesday or Wednesday – but we counted at least eight uniformed officers and, as we were driving home, spotted two mounted officers turning into Websters Way!!
I also believe that the Skatepark is bringing in large volumes of youngesters from surrounding areas. I have a daughter who is in Year 11 at Sweyne Park and she tells me that she knows of those that come from Billericay, Wickford, Southend etc!!
We cannot always blame it on the young people from Sweyne and Fitz or Asda customers – just because they are the closest and the easiest to blame!