A DARWEN resident says people are so afraid of reporting juvenile nuisance near their homes that young tearaways are getting away with making their lives a misery.

The man, who did not want to be named for fear of his Dean Street property being damaged, said gangs of 15 to 20 youths regularly hung around drinking on a green area at the end of his street.

In the latest incident he said that trees had been damaged when someone stripped off their bark and snapped branches.

The complaint comes after residents in Olive Lane signed a petition asking the authorities to tackle juvenile nuisance. And police recently launched a crackdown on under-age drinking in Bold Venture Park and Whitehall Park.

He said: "It is a planted area of fully grown trees and bushes and there's a public pathway going through it. We had some youngsters who started ripping off branches. They are wrecking the area. They have stripped the bark off two trees which will probably die now.

"There are up to 20 youths drinking beer in there. Other people are frightened of getting involved because they might get their windows put through.

"The police need to see their parents and make them pay heavy fines and get them to cover the cost of the damage."

Inspector Graham Ashcroft, of Darwen Police, said: "We have done a lot of work in that area recently and I have personally been involved in some of the operations looking at crime and juvenile issues.

"It's a big problem at this time of year with the lighter nights. We are working very closely with other partners, including trading standards, looking at alcohol abuse."