Kids playing football next to my house, it is a nuisance and can't get help....

[katapigeon]

There is this bunch of local kids around the ages of 6-7 years, definitely not more than 8 years playing very very noisy football right next to our house. All sorts of swearwords flying around between themselves as they play and they kicking the football into big metal garage doors (they use that as the goal). It is a huge bang at every 'goal' (every minute) and they do this for about 2 hours on most evenings from 7pm till 9pm and on weekends in good weather also on bank holidays and any other school holiday times when they go on for even 5 or 6 hours.

 

It is insane! The position of our house is on a corner where 2 streets meet and these metal garage doors are located at the end of our garden. The houses of other residents located past these garage doors and I guess that is enough distance for them not having to 'enjoy' the racket these boys make. As far as I'm aware kids of that age are not even supposed to be let out from home without adult supervision.

 

Been in touch with police on the 101 phone number. First time 3 months ago they were very helpful, they asked a lot of details and came out in 1 hour to deal with the kids. The boys obviously tried to do a runner but I think the police did manage to speak to 1 or 2 of them.... The kids started coming here again a few weeks ago and now their numbers are growing (last night 6 of them) and in line with that the number of loud bangs we have to suffer grows too as well as the general kids' shouting noise.

 

They play on the road and there are garage doors on either side of the road so they just kicking the football around right on the road and kicking it into these metal doors on either side. This is a quiet residential area with not much traffic - moreover there is a park 5 minutes from here! The football obviously often lands in our garden (at least 3 times a week) and they just climb up our fence from the street, sometimes by pulling to the fence an object they find nearby as people do flytip on this particular street corner and the kids just come into our garden to look for their football.

 

The football also goes into other people's sheds that is next to these garages and those only got wooden doors with a padlock locking it down but with large enough gaps under and above. These belong to residents in other streets nearby. The kids do climb in there too to retrieve the ball and been causing more than a little damage to the some of these shed doors.

 

Last night I got home from work at 8pm only to find that 1 of these boys is ramaging around in our garden whilst the other boy is sitting on the top of our fence giving him directions which way to look for the football. I've obviously told them off as this is not the first time nor the second. I've then called the police on 101 again. I got an answer from the officer that 'what exactly do you expect from the police to do about little boys playing football?' So not so helpful this time.... Tried to explain the case of trespassing and how much of a nuisance they are but the officer just shrugged me off and hung up. Have contacted my local council 3 months ago with this issue but they said it's not in their authority to act (I asked if they could put up here a No Ball Play Area sign) because it is a normal residential area and not a council housing.

 

I know that reading this might sound like I'm just some grumpy, old hag who just doesn't like kids but that is totally not the case at all. In fact for a few weeks after the police talked to them, the kids only came here 1-2 times a week and did not kick the ball into the metal doors and that was absolutely fine.

 

Just wondering that if this is not the council's authority to deal with and neither does the police care then where shall we turn to change the current situation? Social services....?

 

By the way we did talk to these boys a lot before on a friendly way to convince them that it's not safe to play football on the road like this and please don't kick the metal doors with the ball but obviously they don't give a flying monkeys....They claim but it might as well just be a lie that their parents don't allow them to play football in the park because they don't think it's safe.... Park only 5mins walk from here!!!

Edited June 23, 2016 by Andyorch
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[king12345]

Join them and practice some heavy tackle.

Of course say sorry every time.

They'll go somewhere else

 

PS just joking, don't kick children!

[Nystagmite]

Do you know who their parents are?

[katapigeon]

Do you know who their parents are?

 

Nope!

They live somewhere not too far as they just walk here every time. Been googleing the issue, so far have found bits of info that's not too extensive but said they do have the right to collect the football from our property. Last year my housemate's bike got nicked from our garden, it was just lifted out from garden onto the street by someone/some ppl over the fence. These kids always say they were just trying to fetch their football back but I only have seen the actual football in the boy's hand who climed in only on 2 occassions and not the other times, I do catch them and see them climbing through our fence often and often they say their football landed in our garden but it's not there however about 10mins later when they think we're not watching, we see them climbing in anyway. Questionable just what's the real reason for them playing here when the football often gets lost on someone else's property...? My parents' next door neighbour is a proper gypsy family, their kids were doing the same to us and to the other neighbours to use the opportunity by entering your property to check out what's worth nicking. They always use the younger kids for this as they can seem less suspicious, because of their young age noone would think they are actually helping the older ones to steal!

[martin2006]

As this is a consumer site i really cant see you getting much in the way of advice here, other than speaking to the kids parents or asking fir a pcso to come round to speak to them or even speaking to the kids school, theres very little u can do to stop it unfortunately other than speaking to them

[Sparks_]

could plant some prickly bushes next to your fence? make it uncomfortable for them to climb over.

[king12345]

Anti climb paint, Brambles, large Rottweiler, deep ditch along the fence (10 foot deep), sharp stones or all of the above.

[renegadeimp]

Theyre not allowed to just go onto your porperty to collect their ball. If its an enclosed garden and a locked gate, they have to ask permission.

[labrat]

Have a look at fence spikes. They're legal, plastic and simply screw on. Most garden centres sell them.

 

We used them on inside of guttering as had someone climb on roof (bungalow) never had anyone again