Broomhall residents complain of vandalism.

Residents of the Broomhall area of Sheffield are being increasingly targeted by vandals it is reported.

In recent months, residents have been victims of petty crimes and vandalism which have left people living in the area extremely concerned.

A block of student flats on Broom Street were targeted twice in one week in the run up to bonfire night last year, with fireworks being pushed through their letterbox. The fire brigade and police were called out but the offenders were not caught. One student said: “Some minor damage was caused to our hallway, however it was lucky nobody was seriously hurt.”

A nurse also had his car number plates stolen recently. Paul Wood, of Broomhall Street woke to find that both plates had been removed from his car, leaving him unable to travel to Rotherham where he works as a community mental health nurse. He said: “I am frustrated and angry that this has happened. I need my car for work as I work in the community so this has caused me a great deal of unnecessary inconvenience and expense. In my opinion the police and council need to do more to reduce the number of incidents of crime that is happening in the area at the moment.”

One resident suggests these incidents may be related to the gangs of youths that frequently hang around the area. Vikki Farr of Travis Place said: “We constantly see groups of young lads hanging around outside the Costcutter store. They can be quite intimidating if you walk past and they hang around until late at night making quite a lot of noise. We have had to call the police out in the past due to these gangs fighting and just making a general nuisance of themselves.”

Other reports of vandalism in recent weeks have included property being defaced by vandalism and garden gates and fences being damaged. An officer from South Yorkshire police said: “There have been a number of complaints made recently regarding incidents of vandalism and general nuisance making. We are working with residents to try and reduce the number of incidents similar to this. We have increased the number of police cars that patrol the area and we are sending out more Police Community Support officers to patrol the area on foot.”

Story by Lucy Owen.