Gang runs riot in sports park

THE Mayor and council leader of Peacehaven stepped into the breach with brooms and brushes after hooligans ran amok smashing beer bottles in a children s play area.

Mayor Pauline Howard and her husband, town council leader Tony Howard, were so appalled by the piles of beer cans and broken glass strewn around the play area, skateboard ramp and car park at the Sports Park on Saturday that they set about clearing up the mess themselves.

A gang of up to 60 youths drank beer and caused a disturbance at the park on Friday evening. Skid marks from teenage drivers vehicles marked the car park.

Other yobs added to the problem by emptying bins and scattering rubbish around the park on Saturday morning.

One resident said three cars suffered punctured tyres from glass in the Salts car park.

As the park s ground staff were not on duty at the weekend the Howards sprang into action. Cllr Tony Howard said: 'It was disgraceful we collected four carrier bags of beer cans and broken bottles.

Two young skateboarders helped the councillors clear up the glass.

Cllr Howard praised the community spirit of the two lads and hit out at hooligans from other towns who he blamed for causing the damage.

He said: 'It is not the local youths. All these yobs that come in from out of town sit up on the skateboard ramp drinking and throwing the bottles down.

If a child was to fall down in the glass, they could bleed to death before a car or ambulance got there.

'These yobs are spoiling it for all the other kids.

The problem had got so bad that Cllr Howard was considering recommending the town council bring in a by-law to make the area an alcohol-free zone.

And the lack of police resources to patrol the area was also of concern to the council leader.

'We only see the police when they are speeding along the South Coast Road to somewhere else. he said.