TERRORISED residents in Ben Rhydding are still being subjected to violence and intimidation despite the eviction of a ‘problem family’, it is being claimed.

Now councillors are threatening to take the issue to the Police and Crime Commissioner unless the situation is resolved.

In April local people packed out a meeting of Ilkley Parish Council to ask for help after enduring a two year “reign of terror” from teenagers.

People living in and around Strathmore Road and the railway station said they have been subjected to intimidation and abuse from drug-taking teenagers who were tearing up fence posts to threaten people. They accused hooligans of vandalism and starting fires as well as deliberately blocking the path of cars.

That situation appeared to have calmed down after increased action by police - but at an Ilkley council meeting on Monday a resident told councillors the problem was still continuing.

The woman, who did not give her name, told the meeting

children were still “running riot” on the estate, and said she and her partner had been threatened by a youth.

She stressed: “Whatever is being done by the police, it is not working. It is going to get to the stage where someone is seriously hurt.”

She claimed much of the trouble was being caused by the same boy, who was not even allowed to be in the area.

She warned that Ben Rhydding was getting a reputation as a bad place to live and that people were selling their houses.

“It is just turning a nice area into a hellhole,” she said.

A police spokeswoman told the meeting anti-social behaviour was the number one priority in the area, and that they had secured extra resources to tackle the problem.

She said they were trying to put the perpetrators before the courts each and every opportunity they got. And she stressed that any incidents of crime would be fully investigated.

Cllr Sandy MacPherson said: “You have been presented with evidence of lots of stuff tonight that is a dam sight more than antisocial behaviour. It seems to me that you are down-grading it.”

Cllr Mike Ridgway said: “I would like to request that you insist Inspector Khan is at every meeting in future.

“I would say to him that if we are not going to get the response we want we are going to take it up directly with the police and crime commissioner.”

Cllr Brian Mann said: “I would certainly support the second suggestion, that if there is no action we will take this further.”