Hundreds of teens take over estate with ‘mad behaviour’ as milk thrown and fires set

Hundreds of teenagers have been descending on Southglade Park in Bestwood, Nottinghamshire, over the past week, causing antisocial behaviour and distress to locals, prompting police to issue a dispersal order

A frustrated shopkeeper was forced to temporarily shut his store due to the “mad behaviour” of youngsters, who have lobbed milk at passers-by and ignited fires in a local park.

Lured by social media and the blazing hot weather, hundreds of teenagers have been flocking to Southglade Park, in Bestwood, throughout the past week.

On Wednesday, May 27, Nottinghamshire Police imposed a 48-hour dispersal order across vast swathes of the estate, along with Top Valley, which was subsequently extended until Saturday morning.

Officers reported that children had been brawling, lighting small fires, harassing shop workers, hurling stones, cycling in front of moving cars and intimidating members of the public.

Staff at Premier, a convenience shop on Southglade Road, have been bearing the brunt of the chaos, reports Nottinghamshire Live.

Shop assistant Suthan Maniam revealed he had witnessed crowds of up to 200 teenagers, aged between 13 and 17, congregating at the park across from the shop.

He believes the majority of the youngsters were travelling from beyond the local area, drawn to the field by social media posts promoting water pistol battles.

During these gatherings, teenagers reportedly stole hundreds of pounds worth of ice creams and soft drinks, forcing Premier to shut for a total of 10 hours across three days, according to Mr Maniam.

He also revealed he had witnessed people being shoved into buses and a weighty sign being hurled towards a crowd.

“It’s very mad behaviour. It’s when it’s especially warm days or school has been off,” he said. “They’re very rude. They start with water [in the water guns] and then put in sticky soft drinks.

“No one is going to listen, that’s the problem. I’ve never seen this kind of behaviour but we can’t do anything about it.”

Mr Maniam was hopeful that the dispersal order would improve things, stating: “They don’t want to enjoy the summer, they need to do some antisocial behaviour.

“When they assemble as a group it’s different behaviour. When they come as smaller groups they’re alright.”

A video shared on TikTok depicts a large crowd of children congregated in the car park and street outside Premier, while another shows a tree and bushes ablaze, accompanied by the caption ‘Casual day in Southglade yesterday’.

Nottinghamshire Live visited the park on Thursday and saw rubbish was scattered across the streets, outside the Premier and all over the field and multi-use games area.

One mum living locally, who wished to remain anonymous, said a pint of milk was hurled at her daughter by a member of the group in the street.

“She had to get changed. They threw it across the road and it went all over her clothes,” she said.

Another woman said she was planning to have a barbecue with her son at the park, but had decided against it due to the antisocial behaviour.

“It puts adults like ourselves off from doing things,” she said.

“We should be able to go out in the community and socialise but when they’re acting like ****heads we can’t.”

However, the 36-year-old, who did not wish to be named, said she had some sympathy for the kids.

“If there were things for kids to do it wouldn’t be so bad. They’re bored and have got nothing to do. I was a rebel at 13.”

Janet Stanley, who lives opposite the field, said she had seen hundreds gather but described them as “nice people”.

The 82-year-old, who has lived there for six decades, said she had seen kids fighting but that they were always friendly to her.

“I don’t mind them. I wave at them out the window and they always wave back. They’re just having fun and sometimes someone will say something [and they’ll fight],” she added.

Sergeant Rose Barton of Nottinghamshire Police said: “Our neighbourhood policing team has received a stream of separate reports of antisocial behaviour in and around Southglade Park in recent days.

“While we’re aware the mixture of the warm weather, Bank Holiday weekend and half term will, quite rightly, lead to young people wanting to hang out with their friends, there is a point where a line is crossed.

“That has now taken place, with the numerous reports of antisocial behaviour severely impacting on the local community, which has prompted us to make the decision to issue this dispersal order and then extend it for longer.”