'Death driving' forces children from homes in County Derry

A local councillor has said children were forced out of their homes last weekend after a spate of anti-social driving in a County Derry town.

Residents in Kilrea were left angered after dozens of cars congregated in the Diamond area of the town last month, sealing off a number of roads and driving dangerously.

One local resident who lives close to the Diamond told the County Derry Post that there were around 50 cars in the area at the time of the incident.

“I was on my way to Coleraine at about half past eight, when I phoned the police and told them there were 30-odd souped-up cars gathered at the roundabout,” they said.

“I was thinking if they send a marked police car out they'd disperse. This has happened a few times before so I knew we were going to be in for a night's rallying.

“When I landed home there must have been 50 cars around the Diamond and Church Street, and they were parked everywhere, even up on the pavements outside Hogg's.

“They were diffing around the big roundabout and the wee one at the top of Church Street; it's just a ready-made race track.

“They were blocking the Moneygran Road and Lisnagrot Road in their cars so some boy could come up in his BM or his Lexus and do half a dozen power circles.”

The resident also criticised the police response, after the first car was not dispatched until around 12.30am, after the incident had concluded.

“A police car came at about half 12 that night, but they were all gone by then. It was unbelievable,” they said.

“Other families had phoned the police a lot of times and so had Sean Bateson as well, but it was a total waste of time.

“They had the town sealed off with police cars last night, but it's no good coming out a week later,” they added.

Cllr Bateson

Causeway Coast and Glens councillor for the area, Sean Bateson, said he had concerns the behaviour would end in tragedy if allowed to continue.

“The ‘rallying’ in Kilrea last weekend was nothing short of a disgrace,” said the Sinn Féin representative.

“The dangerous, mindless and reckless nature of young drivers and the lack of respect for residents of the town was shocking.

“Young children had to be taken out of their homes at 11 o’clock at night due to the noise and behaviour of these drivers.

“Residents are extremely annoyed at this carry on right outside their door steps. I have been in contact with the local police on this about their response and have passed on details including videos and photos of those involved.

“This death driving is putting people at risk not to mention those involved in it, this isn’t craic or fun.

“Many lives have been lost to this type of behaviour and it needs to stop entirely before there is a serious accident or tragedy in our community,” he added.

In response to the incidents, police said they had ramped up patrols in the area.

“We've received reports of anti-social behaviour, particularly of dangerous driving in the town centre,” said Sergeant Ferriby.

“We have neighbourhood officers dedicated to anti-social behaviour policing every weekend, and will be conducting additional proactive patrols over the coming weekends.

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Principal Mr Eugene Mullan said the school were 'blessed with a loyal community'.

“We have also been engaging with Causeway Coast and Glens Council and want to reassure anyone who has concerns regarding anti-social behaviour that we are committed to working with our partners to keep people safe.”

“We know that this issue can have a lasting impact on communities. Please report the behaviour, so we can take steps to stop it.
"If you have any concerns, call us on 101. You can also make a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org/.