A PINEHURST man sick of being intimidated by gangs of youths has called on the council to take measures to stop them congregating and causing a nuisance.

Don Maclean, 65, who has lived in Pinehurst for the past 17 years, has launched a campaign to remove a set of benches from outside the One Stop shop in The Circle.

Gangs of teenagers routinely gather outside the shop and loiter around the benches, hurling abuse at residents and throwing litter on the floor.

Don has had enough and is pretty sure that removing the benches will result in the youths having to find somewhere else to congregate.

He said: “It’s absolutely ridiculous – people are scared to walk across The Circle in the evenings because of the abuse they receive from the teenagers.

“I think the council really need to do something about it. The police are trying their best, but with austerity they just can’t do it.

“If they removed the seating area from outside the shop then the gangs would probably go somewhere else in the evenings and residents could actually leave their houses without having to be scared.”

It was noted in a Haydon Wick Parish Council meeting on Tuesday night that groups of teenagers from the Pinehurst and Penhill areas routinely cross over into the parish to cause trouble.

Police have been known to conduct operations in The Circle to target youths involved in anti-social behaviour.

But, as Don says, there is only so much they can do.

Speaking about his experiences of anti-social behaviour, Don said: “They are a bunch of cowards who do what they do because they know they can get away with it – it’s really not fair.”

But Swindon Borough Council has said that it would not be able to remove the benches without first consulting the local community.

A council spokesman said: “The anti-social behaviour issue in the area is being dealt with via Swindon Borough Council and the police in partnership.

“However, the bench was installed at the request of the community, therefore we would be reluctant to remove this without consultation with the community groups that requested it.”