Six men have been banned from the Holdforths estate in New Wortley as part of a police crack down on anti-social behaviour in the area.
The group of males, aged 18 to 27, were last night served with interim injunctions as part of action by Leeds City Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT) and police to address problems in the area.
The civil orders, which were granted at Leeds County Court, ban the group from entering or remaining in a defined area covering the estate; associating with named individuals within the area; contacting a number of named individuals, either directly or indirectly or through any electronic means such as social media; using threatening or abusive language to anyone in the Leeds area; and using or threatening unlawful violence to anyone in the Leeds area.
The orders carry a power of arrest if any of the conditions are breached.
There have been a number of incidents in the area over the past months, including the closure of local shop Wellington Stores which acted as a magnet for drug dealing, drug use, assaults and anti-social behaviour.
A group of up to 30 people had been involved in disorder around the shop which saw police officers and their vehicles pelted with bricks and bottles. A dispersal order was put in place and a number of people were arrested and charged with offences.
Earlier this month a number of people were arrested following disorder in Holdforth Place where residents’ fences were pulled down to make a fire and firefighters were attacked. Five people remain on police bail while police enquiries continue.
Inspector Simon Jessup, who heads neighbourhood policing in the area, said:
“These injunctions will be a valuable addition to the work we have been doing to improve the situation for residents in the area. They carry a power of arrest and we would encourage residents, who will know who these individuals are, to report any breaches of the conditions.
“The behaviour we have seen in this area has been completely unacceptable I want to reassure residents that we will continue to work hard alongside our council colleagues to keep improving the situation. My officers will be continuing to mount increased patrols of the area to monitor the situation and we will continue to take positive action to reassure the community.”
To report anti-social behaviour call your local neighbourhood policing team via 101 or Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team on 0113 222 4402.