Our sons are not yobs!

THE PARENTS of children banned from Bollington Cross have claimed that their sons have been made "scapegoats" by the police.

It was revealed last week that banning orders had been placed on the children of Katrina Hindley, Julie Gibson and Dawn Ainsworth following months of vandalism.

In a civil action backed by the police, the children have been ordered to stay away from the town's leisure centre and car park, the community centre on Ovenhouse Lane and the surrounding shops for three months.

But the mothers have all claimed that their sons have done nothing to be ashamed of and were only identified because their families are well known.

But the police argue they have video evidence of one youth and complaints from local shopkeepers, who have identified the offenders, of others.

Katrina's connections with Bollington stretch back four generations, Dawn's family has lived in the town for over 50 years, while Julie married into the area, but members of her family have also been there for about half a century.

Katrina, 30, of Bollington Road, said: "We've got new families in Bollington who haven't got parents that live round here.

"But with our children, their aunties, uncles, parents and grandparents all live down here, so everyone in the community knows at least one member of our families."

"One of the things the policemen said to me is that Luke's name keeps cropping up, but because the family is so well known, out of a group of kids they are going to pick him out."

Dawn, 37, of Princess Drive, added: "They do normal children's things, but because they are known, they are targeted."

And 42-year-old Julie, of Kingsway, claimed: "Our kids have been made scapegoats. They are not angels, but they are certainly not yobs or vandals."

They said that when the banning orders were imposed, it was the first time they or their children had visited a police station. All three described how they and their offspring felt "frightened and intimidated" during questioning.

Married Katrina, a mid-day assistant at Tytherington High School, saw CCTV footage of her 14-year-old son Luke which she said showed him simply stood at the side of the leisure centre.

Dawn, who is also married and works as a cleaner, claimed that she was only told that Karl, 13, had committed an offence and that the order was being imposed, and widower Julie was also not shown any film of her 11-year-old son Dale.

They insisted that the children never stayed out beyond 9pm and were guilty of doing nothing more than standing in the streets with groups of four or five friends.

While admitting that families could feel intimated simply by their presence, the parents said that none had ever been accused of a criminal offence.

Katrina said: "If we don't stick up for our children now, nobody else is going to, and we don't want them tarred with this for the rest of their teenage lives."

"We just want people in this area to know that we are not prepared to let people assume that our sons are vandals and yobs."

Dawn owns her own home, but Katrina and Julie both live in council accommodation and have been warned that if their children break the orders, their landlords could evict them from their homes.

"This is another example of how it seems a bit extreme," Katrina said.

They have agreed to contact a civil liberties group to ask whether the banning orders are fair, and will also seek the support of Macclesfield MP Sir Nicholas Winterton.

They will also get in touch with ward councillor, Shirley Sockett, and the town mayor, Coun John Kershaw.

But the parents believe that the best solution to any long-running problems would be more facilities for the children in Bollington Cross.

Katrina said: "We live on the biggest council estate in Bollington and don't have anything around here, apart from swings and a slide, and kids their age don't want to play on those."

Community Support Officer Stewart Blunstone issued the orders on behalf of the owners of the properties affected.

He admitted that the banned youths were not the ringleaders behind trouble in the area, but insisted that banning orders were only handed out when there was enough evidence to back them up.

CSO Blunstone said: "The one we have got video evidence of was videoed climbing onto the roof. We took a still of that and that is what the parent was shown."

"The other two were banned for anti-social behaviour and were identified by the owners of the shops and it is that anti-social behaviour we will not tolerate."

He revealed that a proposal is being put together to build a youth shelter and skateboard park in Bollington Cross - but will only go-ahead if behaviour improves.

"Myself and CSO Atkinson went to a meeting of the Bollington Youth Committee last week and we said that if they curb their behaviour and start acting in a reasonable manner, we are prepared to help them get better facilities," CSO Blunstone said.