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<\/p>\nAntisocial behaviour has plagued the park off Scrogg Road for several months<\/p>\n
Police cordon in Walker Park(Image: Newcastle Chronicle\/Craig Connor)<\/p>\n
Residents of a Newcastle suburb say that their local park has become “lawless” and “frightening” after dark. A 16-year-old and a 14-year-old were arrested in Walker <\/a>Park on Thursday night, on suspicion of wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm.<\/p>\n The arrests relate to an incident on Claremont Road<\/a> in Newcastle city centre shortly after 5pm, where a cyclist was pushed by a person on a moped which two people were riding. The cyclist, who is in his 50s, fell from his bike and suffered head injuries and is now fighting for his life in hospital.<\/p>\n The two teenagers remain in custody<\/a>. Police cordons remained in place on Claremont Road and near the Robbie Burns statue in Walker Park on Friday morning.<\/p>\n A Walker resident, who asked not to be named, said that she had been walking her dog when she saw the arrests outside the park last night. She said: “There were kids on bikes everywhere, it was chaos.”<\/p>\n The woman said that dog walkers live in fear of teens riding e-bikes through the park at high speed and setting fire to wheelie bins. Much of the antisocial behaviour reportedly is centred around the circle where the Robbie Burns Statue stands.<\/p>\n Police cordon in Walker Park(Image: Newcastle Chronicle\/Craig Connor)<\/p>\n She said “I walk the dog here every day at 6-7pm. It’s getting worse in the park, I quite often don’t come in the park, it’s lawless.<\/p>\n “You can see nearly every night there’s the fire brigade or the police here. But it doesn’t deter them, it’s quite frightening to come in.<\/p>\n “There’ll often be 20 – 30 bikes in this circle, and I have gone all the way around the park to avoid them. It’s not a great place anymore unfortunately, and I think a lot of people feel like that after 3pm.<\/p>\n “Sometimes you don’t even dare go in the park.”<\/p>\n Walker Park in Newcastle(Image: ChronicleLive)<\/p>\n Another resident named Bill told ChronicleLive<\/a>: “There are lots of youngsters riding round on motorbikes and lighting fires, there’s a lot of vandalism. There’s a lot of bother with them.”<\/p>\n Bill said that the issues had been going on for “a good while, probably more than a year.” He added: “It’s alright in the mornings but in the evenings, heading on towards dusk, they congregate and it’s getting a bit dodgy.”<\/p>\n A group of three young mums, who were walking in the park with buggies, said that they had played in the park as children but they wouldn’t let their own kids. One of the mums said: “The park never used to be like this.<\/p>\n “We used to play in the park, it never had to be locked. My daughter’s a teenager and she wouldn’t set foot in here. It’s horrible now.”<\/p>\n Walker Park in Newcastle(Image: ChronicleLive)<\/p>\n Robert, who walks through the park to get to work, said: “It’s a regular occurrence in Walker, it’s the young’uns, it’s like the Bronx.<\/p>\n “Night times can be bad, they’ve been setting fire to wheelie bins. There are plenty of respectful people in Walker but at the same time, it’s went down hill, and it’s not getting any better; that’s for sure.”<\/p>\n In September last year, Mary Glindon, the MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend called for a “zero-tolerance approach” to anti-social behaviour in Walker Park<\/a>, saying that such behaviour had worsened throughout the summer holiday’s last year. At the time, Newcastle City Council, Northumbria Police and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service all acknowledged ASB concerns.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: \u201cUnfortunately the warmer weather and lighter nights in summer tends to lead to a spike in anti-social behaviour. We are well aware of the ongoing concerns about Walker Park, including groups on bikes and motorbikes, reports of fires, and damage being caused to park equipment and buildings.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working closely with partners and for many months have been investing substantial time and resources \u2013 including investment in CCTV cameras – in an effort to tackle those issues and reassure the community. Our Empowering People in Communities (EPiC) team carry out regular patrols, as do police community safety officers, and a number of youth organisations are engaging with young people who use the park.”<\/p>\n They added: \u201cDiscussions are also ongoing with regards potentially locking the gates of the park in the evening and overnight. We will continue to engage with both those who use the park, and those who live nearby, to try and find lasting solutions to the problems in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n Did you know you can make ChronicleLive a preferred source of North East news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information<\/a> about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-12-at-093149-1jpeg.jpg\")
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