Colwyn Bay - Colwyn Bay man suffered fractured skull after he was attacked by gang of teenagers

Last Updated: Friday, 18 March, 2005, 13:27 GMT  E-mail this to a friend Printable version

New officers to tackle rail yobs

A series of incidents has sparked a crackdown British Transport police officers will be permanently installed in Rhyl to help reduce railway crime.The move comes after a spate of vandalism involving children as young as 12 at trains and stations. Officers will travel on trains and pay unannounced visits to stations between Prestatyn and Llandudno Junction to try and catch youngsters who misbehave. The two new officers will be based at Rhyl police station. In a five month period last year, 70 incidents of anti-social behaviour including underage drinking, drug abuse and vandalism were reported at Rhyl train station. Chief Inspector Paul Richards from British Transport Police said the decision to introduce two new officers was taken alongside North Wales Police and Arriva Trains Wales. "Over the last 14 months there has been a concerted effort to reduce railway crime in the area and these dedicated community officers are the next stage in that," he said. 'Increased presence' In October 2003, Gareth Jones, 41, from Colwyn Bay suffered a fractured skull after he was attacked by a gang of teenagers at Prestatyn railway station. He was hit over the head with a rock after he asked the group, who were aged between 15 and 18, to stop vandalising public property. Since then, police officers have made a conscious effort to deal with crime on the local rail network. Gerald Jones, station manager for Arriva Trains Wales said he welcomed the extra manpower. "The increased presence of officers at Rhyl will help to reduce the fear of crime and discourage anti-social behaviour that has previously affected some stations and train services," he added.