Keighley News
‘CLOSE OUR SNICKET TO STOP THE YOBS’
9:00am Friday 3rd February 2012
Residents are calling for the closure of a Keighley footpath which they say is being used as an escape route by anti-social youths.
People living in Prospect Mount say that for years they have experienced problems with teenagers marauding through their back gardens after dark, damaging and stealing property.
They want Bradford Council to block the footpath which leads southwards from Prospect Mount to Wheat Head Crescent. They would also like the northern section of the path closed, which runs from Prospect Mount to Rose Meadows.
This week they handed an 80-signature petition in support of their request to officers from the Council.
Kathryn Hyde, 33, one of two co-ordinators of the Prospect Mount Neighbourhood Watch, said: “The kids come down that snicket, jump over the wall then run through our gardens.
“They’ve been doing this since we came here about six years ago. Just in the last three weeks they’ve broken our gate and they’ve also tried to get into people’s sheds.
“It happens at night or in the early evening.
“We got everybody on the road to sign the petition – the only people who didn’t weren’t in at the time.”
Danny Jackson, Bradford Council countryside and rights-of-way manager, said: “The Council does appreciate the problems being experienced by local residents as a result of the behaviour of these young people and we are working with them and the police to try and find a solution.
“Unfortunately, the permanent closure of a public right of way should be considered as a last resort after other options have been explored, as it is a difficult and complex process.”
Brian White, 64, the watch group’s other co-ordinator, has lived on the road for 23 years. He said: “The path now has no real use other than a quick getaway for kids up to no good.”
He and Mrs Hyde said they were especially frustrated because the Council had warned them it would not be possible to close the path even if only one person objected.