A MEETING to discuss crime and anti-social behaviour on the Farley Hill estate tonight (Thurs) has been cancelled due to fears of overcrowding.
Luton Borough Council said the meeting at the estate’s community centre was supposed to give a small group of families the opportunity to talk to the council and police.
But it said a leaflet had been circulated on the estate saying the event was an ‘open public meeting’ and that concerns about space had led to the “difficult decision” to cancel it.
The Herald&Post spoke to two Farley Hill residents, neither of whom wanted to be named, who said the estate had become a “no-go” area at night.
One said: “In April my son was out with a friend and his girlfriend, who was pregnant, and a group of lads started having a go. He walked away and they headbutted and punched him. Then he was hit around the back of the head with a wrench. He needed four stitches.
“Straight away these boys were on Facebook bragging about what they’d done. The police asked me to print it out, which I did, and I haven’t heard anything from the police since.
“You can’t walk around the estate at night because there are gangs in the alleyways intimidating people. But the police aren’t interested.”
Another resident said that when his wife complained to the police of being harassed while walking to pick up their baby, she was told to take a different route.
“The police aren’t doing anything about it,” he said. “People are going to start taking things into their own hands.”
English Defence League leader Stephen Lennon said people had started turning to his group for help. He said: “People feel like they’re being ignored by the police and the council. There’s a wall of silence.”
The council says it has been working hard to tackle anti-social behaviour and increase community cohesion, and that complaints were taken seriously. Residents will be contacted with an alternative meeting date in the new year.