“I can’t stand living round here anymore – I just want to pack up and leave”
Merseyside Police forensics inspect the scene after a double stabbing on Tobruk Road, Huyton this week(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
People living in one Merseyside town are scared to let their children play out after a recent spate of violence. In the space of one week in Huyton, a teenager was stabbed, a man was allegedly chased with a knife and grabbed by the neck, and police shot another man after two people were stabbed.
All three incidents, which are not believed to be linked, happened within a mile of each other. The week of violence began on the evening of Wednesday May 7 when, during an altercation involving a group of youths on electric bikes opposite the Shell garage on Liverpool Road, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed in the arm.
Police found the teen at a nearby house and arrested him on suspicion of affray, possession of a bladed article and possession of cannabis. In an appeal for information, Detective Inspector Jimmy Rotheram said the consequences of the incident “could have been catastrophic”.
Five days later, at around 3.10am on Monday May 12, police were called to Pine Close, just a minute’s walk from Liverpool Road, following a report a man had a knife and was chasing another man before grabbing him around the neck.
Officers attended and, following a chase, detained a man on Liverpool Road. The man allegedly kicked out and spat at officers. Detectives have since charged Ronald Phillip Inman, 41, with possession of a bladed article and two counts of beating of an emergency worker.
The ECHO visited Huyton in the aftermath of these two incidents to speak to people about the impact this has had on the community. Numerous people in the area spoke of their fright – many of them under the condition that we used only their first name, or no name at all, due to fear of repercussions.
One woman, called Jane, said: “I can’t stand living round here anymore. I just want to pack up and leave. I’m scared to let my kids out because it’s getting beyond a joke. Something needs to happen.”
A man named Lewis, who lives in Stockbridge Village and regularly walks his dog into Huyton, said “it’s just crazy” in the area. He told the ECHO: “It’s getting worse. Kids are getting bored, aren’t they?
“They’ve got nothing to do, so what do they do? They go out and be little f***abouts. There’s nothing for them. I don’t know what’s going on, to be honest. It’s just crazy.”
He continued: “There’s a lack of community pride. When I was younger, we had youth clubs, boxing clubs, after-school clubs and all that. Now, all anyone does is get out of school and causes trouble. If you’re bored, what are you gonna do?”
Lewis said as soon as he found out his girlfriend was pregnant they started looking at homes away from the area. He said: “We’re moving, us – we’re gone. As soon as we found out, we were looking at properties.
“It’s sad really, because I wanted to bring my kids up in Liverpool – I was born here and it’s my town.”
On Wednesday, May 14, a huge police presence descended on Huyton’s Bluebell Estate at around 4.25pm. This followed reports a man and woman had been stabbed in the Tobruk Road area.
Police cordon off Tobruk Road, Huyton(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Armed response officers were called to the scene and a suspect was subsequently shot by officers. He was taken to hospital for treatment to an injury to his abdomen and his condition is described as stable.
The 33-year-old from Huyton was arrested on Friday on suspicion of attempted murder. The man in his 20s was discharged from hospital earlier this week, while the woman in her 50s remains in hospital where her condition is described as stable.
When the ECHO arrived on scene immediately following the incident, residents again spoke of their fear. One woman who lives on the Bluebell Estate said: “It’s not safe here anymore. It’s a nice area but every now and again there’s a bit of riff raff and something happens again.”
Another shared: “I’m terrified of letting my kids play outside. I hate living here, it’s not safe. Something needs to be done about the situation.”
In response to recent incidents in the Huyton area, Knowsley Superintendent Karl Baldwin said: “We’ve seen a number of incidents involving knives in recent weeks here in Huyton, and I know this will have caused great concern in the community.
“We have also made arrests in connection to these incidents and I want to reassure residents that our officers are committed to keeping our communities safe and we will continue to take all reports of incidents involving weapons extremely seriously. “Merseyside Police is committed to tackling knife crime and bringing those prepared to carry and use knives to justice. We conduct stop searches, warrants and land searches all year round to take such weapons out of circulation and continue to appeal for the public’s help to tell us who is storing and carrying them.
“We still have increased patrols in the area in the coming days, and I encourage residents to come to speak to our officers with any concerns or information they might have.”As well as enforcement activity, we have a longer term programme planned to disrupt anyone prepared to carry, store and use knives and are working with partners including the local authority and community safety partners to divert young people away from knife crime.”Through enforcement and prevention, we aim to take knives out of circulation and change the mindsets of anyone who thinks that carrying a knife is a good idea. Ultimately, we want to prevent people from falling victim to knife crime and I want to appeal to our community to help in that effort by providing any information they might have about where knives are and who is using them. “The use of knives and any weapons is reckless and will not be tolerated, and can have tragic consequences, not only for the victim and their family but also for the offenders involved. “I would urge people to educate themselves and speak to their children and family members about the dangers of knife crime.“There is no place for knives in our communities. I would urge anyone with information to get in touch so we can act on community intelligence or call Crimestoppers anonymously.”