A MOTHER has described her terror at being hounded in a "Lord of the Flies" style attack at a city centre park.

Zoe Kyriacou (CORR), 34, and her nine year old son were "mobbed" by a group of around 20 youths wielding skateboards in the terrifying attack at The Level in Brighton - but were informed that CCTV did not effectively cover the area.

Ms Kyriacou's fears follow concerns raised by councillors and residents reported in The Argus that parts of the city were becoming no -go areas because of a lack of visible policing.

After the incident the chair of the council's neighbourhoods committee blamed the Police and Crime Commissioner's policy of reducing Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) numbers for a recent perceived increase in anti-social behaviour.

Zoe Kyracou told The Argus that she and her son are now scared to go back to the park after the incident in broad daylight.

The problem started when her son was being picked on in the skatepark and she tried to intervene. She said the gang of youngsters - aged from about eight to 13 - rounded on them and chanted "get off The Level" at around 4.30pm on Wednesday.

She said: “It was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s like a gangland down there, it’s like Lord Of The Flies and people are too scared to get involved and they were chanting ‘We’ve got the Level back’.

“I went over and said ‘Don’t you put your hands on my kids and then they all started following us, about 20 of them. They cornered us by the bushes, they were smashing their skateboards against the lampposts shouting ‘Level. Level. Level’. It was like an electric spark went through all of them like they were waiting for something. At one point they got between us and the children.”

“Now my son is too afraid to go to the park. He’s completely in shock. He shouldn’t be living in fear of his local community.

“And the amount of them was overwhelming. I said to the police ‘Why don’t you get some officers who are into skating to stay down there and keep the peace."

Ms Kyriacou, her friend and their children managed to get away before calling the police but she said officers had told them they were unable to act because CCTV cameras rotate every five minutes. Sussex Police insisted there was CCTV in the park - but that it had missed the incident entirely.

Emma Daniel, chair of Brighton and Hove City Council's neighbourhoods communities and equalities committee, told The Argus: "The Police and Crime Commissioner seems to feel that lower level crime isn't a priority but all I hear from residents all over the city is how worried they are since they lost their PCSO."

She said that commissioner Katy Bourne had campaigned on a manifesto of strengthening neighbourhood policing but is reducing PCSOs.

Cllr Daniel added: "I don't think people would have voted for the commissioner if they'd known what she was going to do."

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: " At about 5.17pm on Wednesday , police received a report of harassment at The Level in Lewes Road, Brighton.

"A group of youths are alleged to have shouted at and intimidated a woman, her son and her friend. Her son and her friend are then reported to have been hit by a skateboard and an unknown object respectively as they left the area, however no injuries were reported.

Police reviewed CCTV of the area, but no such incident was seen."

Anyone who saw what happened is asked to contact 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or call 101, quoting serial 1010 of 26/10.

THE Level has always had a slightly murky reputation - but a multi-million pound lottery investment was supposed to turn the city centre park around.

The £2.2 million of lottery funding gave the park the best playground in the city and for a short while a fresh look.

It's official reopening in 2013 was marred by a mass brawl a few hours afterwards when around 20 youths fought with broken bottles.

But the next day the park was abuzz with happy children and parents, who praised the transformation and the fight was considered a temporary blot on the park's new reputation.

For a couple of years there was a noted improvement and mothers and children took over from drug addicts and rough sleepers.

Last year police temporarily stepped up patrols after a spike in crimes and in recent months the park's darker underbelly has resurfaced again.

Police crime mapping data shows a month on month increase in the number of crimes recorded at the park.

In August there were 18 crimes at The Level. They included two violent or sexual offences, a robbery, and one case of possession of an offensive weapon as well as multiple cases of theft, public disorder and antisocial behaviour.

The figures show a steady monthly rise in crimes.

Since the start of the year there have been 74 recorded crimes and antisocial behaviour incidents at the park and 18 of those were serious violent or sexual offences.

Issues around the park mirror concerns city wide about increasing "no-go-zones" as Sussex Police cut 40 per cent of PCSOs across the force and increasing numbers of officers are bound to their desks fighting cyber crime.

Last summer Sussex Police stepped up patrols at the park after a spike in crimes and antisocial behaviour

The Argus reported how violent attacks, drug dealing, all-night parties and street drinking are once again plaguing Brighton's most notorious park.

With officers called to the park on average more than once a day the situation had got so bad again that Sussex Police has stepped up patrols around the park.

Brighton and Hove City Council employed attendants to monitor the toilets at the park after they became a magnet for drug abuse.

When The Argus visited we pictured a child in the park with a drunk man asleep face down on the grass just yards away

Police were visibly taking action but the most recent spike in incidents has led to no such push to crack down on yobbish behaviour.

Last July - when parents reported finding human excrement in the playground and drunks unconscious under the climbing frames police were in the park every day but this year their presence is less noticeable.

Mother of two Hannah Johns, who lives in nearby Hannover Crescent, said: "I know the Level is the Level but there does feel like there's a bit of a nasty undertone at the moment.

"It's not just kids smoking weed in the skatepark but back to the days of people selling heroin in the middle of the day and you so rarely ever see any police around - not even PCSOs."

Sussex Police said there had been no recent increase to patrols in the area around the Level - but said that decisions were made on the basis of crime issues in any area at any particular time.

Last month a 17 year old boy was arrested on suspicion of dealing heroin in the park.

A spokesman said: “We are aware of ongoing issues at The Level, and the area is regularly patrolled by both plain-clothed and uniformed officers. This is done taking into account threat, harm and risk, as we do with any other location across the city."

Last month the Brighton and Hove City Council lead for neighbourhoods and a number of city councillors urged Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne and Sussex Police chief constable Giles York for a greater PCSO presence on the streets.

Ms Bourne told The Argus she had real concerns about the residents’ fears.