RESIDENTS of a new housing estate at the Grand Bouet are living in fear of nightly abuse from gangs of young thugs. Bins have been set on fire, rocks thrown at windows, letterboxes smashed and road signs destroyed by youths on the Rue des Marais development.

One elderly woman was even punched in the face and struck on the head by a stone.

Worried neighbours have spoken out ahead of a meeting with the Housing Association and police.

Ian Mauger, 44, said the trouble had been going on for six months and was now spiralling out of control.

‘It’s affecting everyone here, but most people are too afraid to speak out,’ he said.

‘A couple with young kids were getting stones thrown at them by a gang of youths. A woman came out of her house to tell them to stop and she got one in the head.

‘Old people get targeted all the time.

‘Kids have tried to break into their houses and are constantly ringing their bells and shouting foul-mouthed abuse to frighten them.

‘Neither the Housing Association nor the police do anything about it. They just pass the buck from one to another.

‘One time there was a gang of about 20 youths causing trouble here on a Sunday evening and a policeman left because he was outnumbered. They were playing a game of cat and mouse around the clos with him.

‘I think the States has fuelled the problem by not giving the police the powers to deal with this issue properly.

‘They are totally incapable of dealing with this sort of antisocial behaviour.’

CCTV has been suggested as a possible tool to combat the problem, but the fear is the youths will climb lampposts to destroy the cameras.

Mike Devlin, 52, said he thought the area was beginning to resemble parts of his native Liverpool.

‘I’ve lived in Guernsey for 13 years and in the last six or seven months it’s gone downhill dramatically,’ he said.

‘I won’t let my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter outside to play unless she stays near me.

‘It has to stop. Something must be done.

‘These youths race their cars at the back of the site where young children play and it’s only a matter of time before a little child gets killed. Only when someone dies will anything be done about it.’

Young mother Racheal Jennings, 22, said the situation was so bad she was considering moving in with her parents to get away.

‘There is an old man who had a heart attack because he was getting so stressed from all the abuse and now he doesn’t even leave his house any more,’ he said.

‘I’m just grateful I don’t live on the ground floor because I have a young son and I wouldn’t feel safe for him.’

The meeting between residents, police and the Housing Association will take place at the Roseville Community Centre at 7pm on Wednesday.

Other issues about the Rue des Marais development, such as the lack of fire alarms and parking facilities, will be raised.

Housing Association chief executive Steve Williams said he wanted to address all the residents’ concerns and work towards a solution.

‘Hopefully, it’s just been worse during the school holiday and things will calm down,’ he said.

‘We have some ideas, but if you don’t get to the root of the social problem, you’re just moving it around. But I’m confident we will find a way forward.’

Guernsey Police had no one available for comment.