{"id":514234,"date":"2025-10-20T11:23:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T11:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/514234\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T11:23:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T11:23:18","slug":"these-feral-kids-arent-afraid-of-anyone-but-the-town-centre-is-depressing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/514234\/","title":{"rendered":"These ‘feral’ kids aren’t afraid of anyone but the town centre is depressing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some are avoiding the town centre but others feel it’s part of a wider problem\"TheThe Church Square shopping centre in St Helens(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

People are divided on the future of a Merseyside town under threat from gangs of \u2018feral kids\u2019. Last Tuesday (October 14) Pop Up Market Co, which has held markets in Church Square, St Helens<\/a> town centre, and in Earlestown<\/a> over the last year, said it would not be returning to either location due to anti-social behaviour<\/a> having a \u201creal impact\u201d on trade.<\/p>\n

However, the council denied these claims. That night, a gang of youths targeted<\/a> The Range store on Chalon Way West. After being refused entry, they tried to force their way in.<\/p>\n

The ECHO<\/a> visited the town centre after these reports to speak to local residents<\/a> about the issue. Paul Bemaman, 58, and his neighbour Bernard Ledwith, 77, said the biggest issue facing St Helens was the state of the town centre.<\/p>\n

Paul told the ECHO: \u201cI don\u2019t come into town as much and I guess it\u2019s because of that (anti-social behaviour). But it\u2019s also because of town generally, there\u2019s not much to do here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bernard added: \u201cSt Helens used to be lovely and there were lots of things to do but there\u2019s not as much to do now. We live in town and we don\u2019t come in that much.<\/p>\n

However, one woman, who asked not to be named, said large groups of youths often come into the town centre after 5pm and verbally abuse others.<\/p>\n

A local dad, who also asked not to be named, said he had witnessed the trouble at The Range. He saw the youths “terrorising\u201d staff, trying to enter the store through the emergency doors and setting off the fire alarms.<\/p>\n

\"AA group of youths targeted The Range store on Chalon Way West last week(Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n

The article generated a lot of debate on the ECHO\u2019s St Helens Live Facebook<\/a> page and in the comment section of the article.<\/p>\n

Some readers also felt the town was suffering from anti-social behaviour. Monika Dabrowska said: \u201cI live not far from St Helens. There\u2019s always some trouble on the high street, groups of youngsters hanging about, causing a nuisance. I only drop my daughter to air cadets and go to Specsavers once a year, and there\u2019s always a police car around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victoria Bailey said: \u201cMore policing is needed during college hours, especially at lunchtimes and finishing times.\u201d<\/p>\n

User kath66 said: \u201cI’m born and bred here. I’ve never seen anti-social behaviour during the day except in school holidays. The kids aren’t scared of anyone. Even those in authority, teachers can\u2019t touch them and the kids know this.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, some felt the problem was not unique to St Helens. Jimmy Boardman said: \u201cThis is happening all over, so St Helens is no different. The problem is some think they are untouchable, and until tougher penalties are brought in, they are.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoot camps are one way, community payback is another or youth detention is another. Giving them letters or a slap on the wrist is not the way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

User unprintable said: \u201cThere\u2019s feral kids everywhere and no deterrent for any trouble caused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nick said: \u201cIt\u2019s happening in every town and city across the UK. Easy to solve, if they are under-16, fine their parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank Knowles however feels the issue had been exaggerated. He said: \u201cKids have always gathered together to socialise, they may be noisy but are generally no trouble. People nowadays are afraid of their own shadow and have a vivid imagination, yet very rarely see any incidents. Act like adults and try accepting our young people.<\/p>\n

Many agreed with Paul and Bernard, who said the biggest issue facing St Helens was the state of the town centre rather than bad behaviour. Mark O Brien said: \u201cSaints town centre is run down and depressing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not a nice place to go, so these days I get the bus to Warrington<\/a>, it’s like a breath of fresh air. It\u2019s much nicer and friendlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mandy Donnelly said: \u201cEven if the feral kids are kept in some sort of order, people won’t go into St Helens to shop because of the serious lack of shops now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rita Mounsey added: \u201cIt’s a dump without all the anti-social behaviour. I go every month to get my nails done, I’ve supported the same salon for years – that’s the only reason I go.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sad to see the lovely town we once had now just a shadow of what it was. I loved working in town, great memories that will never return.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others believe that more investment from local and central governments have to be part of the solution. Dave Hughes said: \u201cBring back places where they can go, youth clubs etc, which when I was a kid, were a great place to socialise and provided some sort of structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chrissy Welford said: \u201cThe government should be on top of this. Investment is not a waste of anyone’s money when you invest in a child’s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe schools are broken through lack of funding from central government. Local government finds millions of pounds to waste every year on things the town doesn’t need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commenter tell the truth added: \u201cThe trouble is that all the major services have been cut – police, fire, national health – to make them more efficient.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still can’t get my head around it – how do you cut services and make them more efficient? I\u2019m sorry to say it’s not going to get any better, God help the kids today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ChurchChurch Street in St Helens town centre(Image: Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n

In a statement issued to the ECHO, local policing Inspector Tara Smith said: \u201cWe won\u2019t tolerate any kind of anti-social behaviour in our community and understand the impact it has on residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware that a small minority of youths are causing such trouble on Chalon Way West and the surrounding area of St Helens.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to reassure the community that by contacting schools and obtaining photos and names of the suspects involved we are actively and robustly responding to the situation. Community protection notices and ASB warning letters have been sent out to prevent any further criminality.<\/p>\n

“Our officers are working with businesses in the area to improve their security and our safer initiative team and outreach workers will provide extra attention in the area over the next coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis area of St Helens is a priority focus location and we have the powers to deal with groups causing harassment, alarm and distress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ask businesses in the area to check your CCTV footage and contact us if they think it has captured the perpetrators causing the issue to help identify them and bring them to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa Harris, Executive Director of Place at St Helens Borough Council, said: “As a council we take concerns around antisocial behaviour and public safety seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver previous months the council has been working with a number of partners to improve public safety and to respond to any reports of anti-social behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn St Helens town centre this includes the upgrading of CCTV, the introduction of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) and the introduction of Youth Engagement Officers with our youth partner Vibe UK.<\/p>\n

“As part of our town centre regeneration programmes, and alongside the highly visible redevelopment works that are advancing at pace, we continue to explore opportunities like the Pop-Up Market Co initiative we facilitated to deliver diverse, high-quality experiences for residents and visitors to our town centres.”<\/p>\n

In terms of the town centre generally, St Helens Council\u2019s planning committee approved the reserved matters application for phase one of a regeneration scheme.<\/p>\n

Phase one will replace the former Hardshaw Shopping Centre with a \u201creimagined\u201d central district featuring new buildings, community spaces, and climate resilient landscaping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some are avoiding the town centre but others feel it’s part of a wider problemThe Church Square shopping…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,188,393,4884,179,274,2645,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-514234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-liverpool","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-crime","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-liverpool","13":"tag-merseyside-police","14":"tag-st-helens","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115406242825287999","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}