Sutton stabbing 'part of ongoing gang problem' on estate, says resident

Tracey Greatorex has hit out at the authorities for "not taking a tough line" on what she describes as the "ongoing gang problem" that is "blighting" the Carsic estate.

It comes after part of Davies Avenue on the estate was cordoned off on August 22 following reports of a stabbing, where a man was left with "minor head injuries" and was treated at King's Mill Hospital after also being attacked "with a baseball bat".

Ms Greatorex described her experience with the "gang", suggesting one man threatened her and her son "with a knife" when she challenged them earlier this week - but says that, when contacted, "Nottinghamshire Police did absolutely nothing".

She wants more action from both the police and Ashfield District Council on the issue, believing that many of the people involved in the "gang" are tenants of council-owned properties on the estate.

She said: "There was an attack last night and there has been a lot of stuff going off for a very long time involving the gang, and I'm not the only person who's concerned.

"I was threatened by them and they were holding a knife, and after the stabbing it really could have gone any way. Me and my son were very

"They hang around the park on the Oval in the evenings, and at night they're in the McDonalds and the KFC causing an absolute nuisance.

"And most of the time they're tenants in Ashfield District Council properties, so the council should be doing more to evict them and move them away. But they don't."

She added that, following the stabbing, it will not be long "before someone gets killed" and wants the police to act now.

She said: "It's not long before someone is going to get killed, and I'm not even being dramatic.

"We try to get hold of the police and the council but nobody ever comes out, I've spoke to Jason Zadrozny and he said he was going to come out and see for himself, but he didn't show up.

"And when the police came to me after I reported being threatened with a knife, they told me there's nothing they can do and didn't give me a reference number.

"I've been told on many occasions that resources are too stretched.

"All we need is a greater police presence on the Carsic estate, for more stop and searches on the people responsible. The only people causing bother on the estate are the gang members."

'WE CAN'T JUST PUT PLASTERS OVER THE CRACKS'

In response to complaints by residents on the Carsic estate about the ongoing gang problem, council leader Coun Jason Zadrozny has said the council's community protection team and Nottinghamshire Police are set to patrol the area on Friday evening (August 23).

Coun Zadrozny says the council is taking the stabbing, and the ongoing gang issues, "very seriously" and said feeling safe in your own home is "a basic human right".

He said: "It's a basic right to feel safe in your own home, I've lived on similar estates before and I know what it's like having crime on your front doorstep.

"Sorting out Carsic's problem is a complex issue, but tomorrow night (August 23) we're going to tour the estate with the police and our CPOs to review the situation on the ground.

"We can definitely do more as a council to support our tenants, and given that the nights are soon to be getting darker we need to have a plan to make sure our residents feel safe to go out at night."

He says that the council's mission to "get to the bottom of it" in Carsic will include operations with the police in the coming weeks, but wants the Nottinghamshire Police to offer "more cooperation" with the and liaise better with council officers.

He said: "At the minute there's also no sustainable plan to make sure that, when an arrest is made by police, action is taken to stop it from reoccurring in the area.

"If they make arrests and the resident is in a council property, they need to tell us straight away because it is an immediate eviction notice and we can move them out of the area.

"When handling this issue, we might need support from social care, from the CCG and county council for drugs, it has to be a multi-agency approach working together.

"The police could be doing more, offering more patrols and at the end of the day, it's a knife crime issue so our CPO team shouldn't have to be dealing with it.

"And if we want to do more than just a press thing, showing everyone the action we're taking, then we need to not just stick a plaster over the crack and actually solve people's issues."

MAN STABBED 'IN THE HEAD' ON CARSIC

Following the stabbing on August 22, Nottinghamshire Police have said they see it as "targeted" and that there is "no risk to the wider community".

Detective Inspector Gayle Hart who is leading the investigation said: "We believe this was targeted and not a random attack.

"We don't believe there is a risk to the wider community and we want the local community to know that we are treating this incident very seriously.

"We are working on a number of leads to ensure we can track down those who were responsible."

Officers are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with any information to ring 101 and quote incident number 976 of August 21, 2019.