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The houses in Bottom o'th' Fields which were being targeted by vandals. An arrow shows the home of Mr and Mrs Wild
EVERY evening as darkness fell, Mrs Mary Wild double-locked and barred the doors of her home.
As she and her two teenage daughters did their household duties, they waited for the sounds of breaking glass, splintering wood, falling bricks, loud shouting, and the crack of shotguns.
For Mr and Mrs Wild and their daughters were the only residents left in the deserted hamlet of Bottom o'th' Fields.
During the past 12 months, Radcliffe Council had been re-housing the residents in modern homes in other parts of the town.
But in the evenings and at weekends, gangs of teenagers arrived in the hamlet, sometimes carrying air rifles and shotguns.
They threw stones at the windows of the 25 empty houses and lit fires in the rooms.
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The problem had got so bad that Mr Wild, an engineer, was considering giving up night shift work so that he could protect his family.
Mrs Wild said: "We cannot get out of the village too soon. These gangs of young hooligans come up here and spend their time throwing bricks at the windows of the unoccupied houses, tearing out the fittings and smashing the woodwork. They have fired shotguns and airguns through the windows. It has now got to the pitch where I dare not leave the house for fear of what I might find when I return."
A Radcliffe Times reporter visited the hamlet and found broken windows, holes caused by shots, and fireplaces and cupboards removed or damaged. Bricks had been thrown through doors and windows. Mrs Wild said: "I am desperately hoping that the council will find us a house very quickly. I can't get my family away from here quickly enough."
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