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Teenagers are stabbing each other in tit-for-tat "postcode wars," according to community workers fighting to make change in the tough estates of Parr.

And counsellors believe Tory cuts have "hollowed out" community policing - although Merseyside Police say they are getting results in Parr with a combination of tactics.

While many people associate stabbings and violence with drugs gangs - the reality is not always so straightforward in St Helens , according to those with direct experience of working with young people.

(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

Many of those who know Parr speak of a close, "decent" community with plenty of green spaces and an abundance of history.

But the recent story of St Helens is familiar to many traditionally working class towns in the North - social decline and neglect following the failure of major industries, such as the closure of Sutton Manor, Bold and Parkside coal mines in the late 1980s.

Post-code wars

For years the estates of Parr, home to around 13,000 people, have garnered a reputation for toughness, and often drugs, alcohol and violence - some believe unfairly.

But despite the formidable challenges it faces, the area boasts a determined coalition of volunteers and organisations dedicated to improving the prospects of young people.

Dominic Hodnett, coach of the Wildcard Amateur Boxing Club , now based in Derbyshire Hill Road, sees more than most when it comes to the youth of Parr - and holds no punches when it comes to warning his young charges away from knife crime.

The 49-year-old, who has run the club for a decade, speaks with raw honesty about the issues facing the youngsters that set foot in his gym - and his "mission" to bring pride and discipline back to the area.

Talking about knife crime, he told the ECHO : "It's a rough and tumble town. To be honest I see it every day. Kids are getting caught up in post-code wars.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

"It's a big area, St Helens, it's bigger than a lot of people realise, but it can be very insular in the way people think. We see the lads from Parr are head to head with Newton-le-Willows."

Dominic's worries about knife crime are based in more than anecdotal evidence.

Knife teen banned

Last year, Superintendent Tami Garvey-Jones, from Merseyside Police , told a council meeting that 312 incidents of knife crime were reported in 2018-19, 46% up on the previous year.

And figures released this week show convictions or cautions for carrying a knife or other weapon has hit a 10-year high in Merseyside.

Dominic describes how one of his young boxers had to be banned from the gym after being linked to a brutal stabbing near Sherdley Park on Bonfire Night last year.

On that bloody night, a 17-year-old boy narrowly escaped with his life after being stabbed in the back in front of children and families.

A video had also emerged from earlier that day, showing the same teenager allegedly dropping a knife during a fight with another youth in St Helens town centre.

The boy had already been convicted of a knife attack a year earlier, and on that occasion Dom had given him a second chance - even accompanying him to Liverpool Crown Court and providing a character statement.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Dominic says: "We banned him. It was not just for what he did because I believe in giving people chances, but he had promised me he would not do anything like that again, there was no need for what he did.

"I spoke to the lad who got stabbed as well, it was just Parr vs Newton-le-Willows.

"He did not come here on his hands and knees begging for forgiveness, that's what I would have done. That's why he got banned."

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Listening is Steve Cox, who became involved in the club through his brother-in-law Dave Allen, a popular Wildcard ABC coach who died suddenly in 2015.

Steve has been instrumental in founding Parr Sports and Community Centre, a charity which shares a building with Wildcard ABC and acts as a community hub providing a wide range of services.

The 52-year-old, who moved to St Helens 17 years ago, radiates energy and enthusiasm, qualities that helped secure a staggering £500,000 in funding for the centre from a range of charities last year.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

With the money the centre has installed 2G and 4G football pitches, renovated the dilapidated building, invested in sports and boxing equipment and provided IT and skills training for adults and youths.

The centre also runs a food-bank, with no set criteria, where struggling families can drop in to help make ends meet, as well as a community cafe.

Steve told the ECHO : "The biggest problem I see is poverty. And a lot of the people who come in don't want to go outside their houses after 6pm because of the abuse from the kids.

"We have had some issues with them coming out with bass boxes and deliberately aiming them at houses.

"But we have had some struggles with knife crime as well. I think it's peer pressure, they all want to be a gangster, they don't know why, they don't even know what that means."

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

"Deep sadness"

Dominic adds: "Drugs culture definitely plays a part in it . The young lads that come here, some of their older brothers are knocking it [cannabis] out and they are trying to become tough gangsters.

"When we were kids you would knock lumps out of each other, but then you would end up best mates. It was a scrap in the street, that's all it was.

"Nowadays it's tough to carry a knife and stab someone. In my day no-one would think you were hard because you carried a knife."

Both men agree that a lack of opportunity and aspiration have added to the problems in the town.

But while Steve expressed frustration at "being stuck in the 80s", Dominic believes a path can be traced back to the collapse of big employers.

He said: "I see it slightly differently. It was a manufacturing town, blokes went out to work and about 50% of St Helens thought they had jobs for life.

(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

"But for a lot in my generation, all of a sudden the pits close and their dad's are out of work. Nowadays a lot of the work there is is order picking in warehouses, a lot of them can't stand it.

"For some lads there's a couple of paths you can take, one is just go out get into drugs and see what happens."

Dominic refers to recent statistics that revealed St Helens had the highest suicide rate in the UK .

He said: "To me there's a deep sadness in the town, a deep depression on it. Kids leave school and there's no guarantee you're going to get a job...

"Drugs and alcohol problems are rife, domestic violence is rife, it's socially acceptable to knock out a bit of weed. Some of these kids are struggling to find an identity, they are lost."

The fightback

Despite the challenges facing the town, Dominic has seen how the role of Wildcard and the community centre can help keep the youth of Parr away from crime and instill some pride and discipline.

Subs for the boxing club remain £2 per child, a price that has remained fixed for 10 years to allow kids from hard up families to keep the sport up.

(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool Echo)

He said: "I'm not a psychologist, or a social worker, I'm a boxing coach and for me it's about self-discipline. It's ok me shouting at them but if it's something they want to do eventually they will do it.

"It's about making them think 'I can do this'."

Dominic has seen troubled young men and women gain confidence through the sport of boxing, and says working with Steve and the community centre team is an opportunity to steer them into meaningful careers and training.

Local people seem to echo the concerns shared by Dominic and Steve.

Ian, 47, said: "Kids need somewhere to go, they're always on the green and that messing around, they have got nowhere."

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

He also agreed about a lack of opportunity, telling the ECHO he had been looking for work for three or four years and finding "nothing."

Shaun Cunliffe, a 42-year-old NHS worker, said: "There are problems with the kids and teens, but that's Parr, it has been the same for 20 years."

Darren, 46, who works in a local Co-op, said: "There are not enough coppers round here, especially at night, and there are a lot of burglaries around here."

Labour counsellor Kate Groucutt, who represents Parr on St Helens Council, is clear-eyed about the difficulties face in her ward but described the strong community groups, such as Wildcard and the community centre, as "brilliant."

She also singled out Derbyshire Hill Family Centre and Bold Miners Neighbourhood Centre for praise, and highlighted a multi-million pound refurbishment for "community hub" Parr St Peters Church, on Broad Oak road.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Community policing 'hollowed out'

Cllr Groucutt told the ECHO : "Since being elected as a Councillor in Parr, I've found local people to be forthright, passionate and the vast majority are fiercely proud of where they live.

"Unfortunately, like other traditionally working class areas, they've been let down by 10 years of a Tory government that has cut the numbers of police on our streets, slashed council budgets that funds things like Sure Start, and pushed more families into poverty."

Cllr Groucutt says efforts have been made to tackle problem landlords in the private sector which have caused issues with fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.

She said: "We also need to make sure that where there are privately rented houses, the tenants and landlords understand their responsibilities and don't blight the area with rubbish and noise."

Cllr Groucutt about the link between cuts to police and crime in her ward.

Indeed, since 2010, Merseyside Police has had £110million slashed from its budget leading to the loss of more than 1,600 officers and staff.

Speaking about resident's concerns regarding anti-social behaviour, she said: "Anti-social behaviour is definitely a worry across the whole of St Helens, and probably the whole of the country.

(Image: St Helens Council)

"The police stats tell us it is going down, but our experience and the resident's experience is not that it is going down, and there are problems and pinch points around things like Bonfire night....

"We try to say report every single incident so the police can build a picture, but they are so over-stretched and they can't get out to things."

"We have not got that dedicated support officer out on the street talking to the kids and building those relationships. Individual officers are really good but there are not enough to build those relationships and identify the problem kids.

"Community policing has been hollowed out under the Tory government, police are doing a brilliant job but they don't have the resources."

Responding to concerns about police presence in the area, the force pointed to a range of activity in recent weeks.

In St Helens, Merseyside Police teamed up with St Helens Rugby League club as part of its Blade Free campaign , which aims to show young people there is "more to life than getting involved with crime."

On Monday around 30 officers were deployed around the Thatto Heath and Fingerpost areas carrying out a large number of stop searches targeting drugs and knife crime as part of the force's Operation Target, aimed at cracking down on serious crime.

Community Policing Inspector for St Helens, David Morgan, said: "Community police officers have been working hard to tackle antisocial behaviour across the St Helens area.

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"We will continue to conduct targeted operations, working in partnership with other agencies including housing associations to instigate closure orders and evictions where appropriate.

"We have a range of tools at our disposal to ensure Parr, and St Helens, is a safe place to live.

"As well as high visibility community policing, and regular patrols, Criminal Behaviour Orders are an extremely effective tool in tackling persistent offenders who have a negative impact on our communities, be it through anti-social behaviour, theft or other issues...

"We also work alongside businesses and residents, as well as support services, to ensure that those who continue to offend are offered the necessary support so that they and the wider community can benefit from more positive behaviours.

"We can and have used stop and search powers to stop people who may be acting suspiciously, and this has led to arrests and the seizure of weapons in all areas of the force. We can also enhance stop search powers with Section 60 orders."

Despite the gloomy statistics around the rising tide of knife crime, a number of initiatives are in place to try and reduce violence.

Merseyside Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner's Office are implementing a multi-agency Violence Reduction Unit with £3.37million in Home Office funding.

The unit aims to reduce violent crime by treating violence like a disease under a public health model, an approach which has seen dramatic reductions in murders in Glasgow.

Where to get help or advice about drugs Your GP is a good place to start. They can discuss your problems with you and get you into treatment. They may offer you treatment at the practice or refer you to your local drug service. If you're not comfortable talking to your GP, you can approach your local drug treatment service yourself. Visit the Frank website to find local drug treatment services. If you're having trouble finding the right sort of help, call the Frank drugs helpline on 0300 123 6600. They can talk you through all your options.

But Inspector Morgan urged residents to report their concerns, saying: "Where members of the community report concerns, we will act. If you are aware of anti-social behaviour and criminality in your area, we want you to report it.

"If you have information I want you to share it either to one of my team by speaking with your local officer or PCSO, by messaging @MerPolCC on Twitter or Merseyside Police CC on Facebook or by calling 101, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

"We will target our response according to where and when offending may be happening, and where there is evidence we will pursue the offender through the system. Antisocial behaviour in all its forms is totally unacceptable.

"Individuals must behave responsibly or face the consequences, and parents, carers and families must also be aware of their own responsibilities in discouraging this behaviour."