THESE Merseyside residents want their road gated off because they say youths are causing chaos by kicking in doors, setting fires and having sex in the street.

People living on Merton Street in Wallasey “fear daily for their safety”, and claim “the kids have taken over”, with frequent incidents terrifying neighbours, who include children and the elderly.

They said since January, there have been multiple incidents including a car break-in, police riot vans called, fights, bins kicked over, fly-tipping incidents, wing mirrors kicked off and fires set.

Jack Biddulph and Karina Upton said they have “had enough”, adding that young people are also taking drugs, drinking, smoking and engaging in sexual activity on the road in Liscard.

They are now calling for the council to “close off the road” by installing alley gates for controlled entry, and have launched a petition on change.org.

Jack said: “This used to be a quiet and very friendly road, but now kids have taken over. We as a neighbourhood are up in arms and fear daily for our safety.

“Although a lot of the road are now rental properties, a lot of the owned houses are elderly people who we know are very intimated by these incidents.

“We are home owners and feel now we will have problems selling our properties due to the mass issues. The sad thing is, this area isn’t as a whole deemed a ‘bad area’. This used to be a lovely place to live. Now people are facing constant fear even leaving their car outside their own properties.

“Everyone feels the same way with everything that’s gone on, we are sick to death of kids making us and our street a hotspot for their crime.”

Jack said: “The social media society and filming and showing off of these incidents among peer groups has a big hand to play but specifically why are they targeting Merton Road?”

“Merton Road has walkway access but not vehicle access at the rear of the road. This means that groups of youths can cause issues and vandalism around the area and it’s a quick escape road, but police cars can’t get down.”

He said the situation was “very worrying”, adding: “Some people don’t have CCTV, there are two properties in the road that do and thankfully it covers the whole road – but that isn’t enough for our protection or security.

“People are going to work and spending money every month replacing wing mirrors and other things to their car that they can’t afford to. How is this fair?

“Due to the lack of entry gates, this is a fly-tipping hot spot and that mixed with it being the ‘local hangout’ for teenagers – it just spells trouble.

“Several neighbours won’t let their children or grandchildren play in the garden now.”

Jack and Karina have launched a petition on change.org that’s already received hundreds of signatures.

He said: “The road needs to be closed off as a walk-through and we need entry gates before one of these incidents is deadly.”

Wirral council’s cabinet member for law and order, Cllr Paul Stuart said communities having trouble with anti-social behaviour are advised to contact the authority’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team.

He said: “There may be other ways we can offer support or help if we are made aware of the problem. Wirral Community Patrol can also be requested to attend an incident of anti-social behaviour 24 hours a day by calling on 0151 666 5265. If you are a tenant of a registered housing provider, please contact them directly.

“Contact the ASB team by email – neighbour.nuisance@wirral.gov.uk – or through the council call centre on 0151 606 2020. If the anti-social behaviour puts you, your family or your property in immediate danger, you should contact the police on 999. If you have witnessed a crime that isn’t an emergency, you can report this to the police on 101, or anonymously to Crimestoppers: www.crimestoppers-uk.org or 0800 555 111.”