A DARK cloud has descended on Sunnybank Woods, according to residents who claim their lives are being made a misery by unruly youths.

Gangs of up to 40 teenagers regularly gather in the woods on Friday evenings to drink alcopops and stay there until the early hours of Saturday morning, shouting and screaming.

Their behaviour has made the parkland, off Sunny Bank Road, a no-go area for dog walkers and younger children who feel intimidated by the group.

Speaking at Whitefield and Unsworth area board on Tuesday evening, Mrs Sue Skinner, of Cartmel Close said: "There is a terrible situation in Sunnybank Woods at the weekend. Their behaviour is absolutely intolerable and the situation is getting out of hand. They come into the woods from 6.30pm and stay there until the early hours. If challenged, they will come back and put your windows through."

Mrs Skinner's husband, John, who is registered blind, said their house is right next to the passageway leading to the woods and suggested it should be blocked off.

He added: "I have been out numerous times and sometimes I get intimidation and abuse. I want something doing."

The Skinners said a police presence in the area should help deter the youths from congregating near their house and said the situation had come to a head recently when their front garden wall had been demolished and a slab thrown into their next door neighbour's garden.

Insp David Jones defended his officers' handling of the situation and said: "Sunnybank suffers in a similar way to the rest of the borough. It is not 'terrible'. I live near there and I use the footpath. It does not need a police presence and is not a hotspot to me. But if you have young people outside your house, don't go out to talk to them, call us. You have not been calling as frequently as you ought to."

Insp Jones said that just three weeks ago police officers had filmed underage drinkers, elsewhere in Sunnybank, and that as a result, they had moved on to a remote area to carry out their drinking.

Video tapes were shown to their parents as a warning to the children and more often than not the problem was dealt with at home.

The Skinners were told the footpath was a public right of way and could not be blocked off by the council.