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Vehicles damaged at low security lorry park in Gateshead
Page 34
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• Drivers using a three acre demolition site for overnight parking in Gateshead. Co. Durham, are becoming the victims of a protection racket which is said to be operated by children between eight and 13 years' old.
The children ask drivers for as much as LI a time to "guard" their vehicles against damage, and some nights as many as 40 to 50 vehicles are parked on the land.
When the demands have not been met drivers have sometimes returned to find that their headlights have been smashed or their tyres deflated.
Gateshead councillor Patrick Conaty told CM on Monday that he had spoken to many drivers about the matter and had been told that the problem was not peculiar to Gateshead I have been told of drivers receiving similar demands in several other places.
"In one case a driver parking overnight in Birkenhead had his windscreen smashed after refusing to pay one of these demands. It cost £55 to repair the windscreen and the vehicle was off the road for two days," he said.
Although only children were involved they had got the racket well organized, he said. He had even heard of rival gangs competing for trade and added that the children always covered themselves by saying that they were accepting the money for showing drivers to bed and breakfast establishments and for carrying their bags.
Now, the council have set up a study group to investigate the situation and the possibility of cordoning off the area with a barbed-wire fence is also being considered.
A spokesman for the RHA (Northern area) said that although there had been claims that this sort of thing was happening it was felt that the introduction of several planned security lorry parks in the Gates head area — and elsewhere would end the matter.