Residents ‘fear for lives after death threats’

And in the latest of the anti-social incidents death threats have been made against the Rashee Grove residents on social networking sites.

Residents have told the Times there has been a string of incidents of late including a graffiti attack on a home, a series of attempted break-ins and death threats made against people living in the area.

They have told the Times they are “living in real fear of their safety” and have appealed for help, which, they say, has landed on deaf ears.

“We feel no one is listening and we do not know were to turn,” said one resident who asked not to be named.

“We have asked the police to patrol the area more and been on to our local MLAs, but no has come back to us and nothing appears to have been done.”

“We are literally living in fear of our lives, it is very scary.”

In the past week there was a series of attempted break-ins in the area while many of the residents targeted were in their homes at the time.

The mother of two added: “We were lying in bed while I heard someone try the door handle a few times.

“All I could think was, who was it, why did they want in and what about my children - we were all petrified.

“All the residents are concerned, but it’s the children I really fear for.

“They are the ones who are losing out because we are not letting them out to play and every time a car comes up the street we are on edge thinking the worst and that rubs off on the kids.

“We live in a lovely development and all just want to get on with our lives and live in peace, but we feel we can’t.”

Another resident, a father-of-two, said he was very concerned for his family’s security.

His home was also targeted in the recent break-in attempts.

He also asked to remain anonymous, he said: “I heard the door handle rattle and when I looked out the window to see what was going on I saw someone run across the road to another house and try to break into it.

“It was frightening, because all the lights were on in the house and it was obvious there were people at home - which made it all the more scary.

“There have been a number of problems in the area for a while now and we are all panicking.

“Then we saw the death threats posted online telling us all we were going to be stabbed. We are all on edge.

“We just want someone to listen to our concerns and do something about it. This is a real big issue for us.”

Fold Housing Association, which manages the development, said it was investigating anti-social incidents in the area. A spokesman said: “Fold takes any report of anti-social behaviour very seriously and has a very robust anti-social behaviour policy.

“We have recently received reports of an incident in the Rashee Grove area of Ballyclare which we are currently investigating thoroughly.

“All Fold residents can be assured that we stringently enforce the conditions of tenancy and any breach of these tenancy conditions will be addressed.

“Any resident in the Rashee area who has any concerns should report these to the housing staff so that Fold have access to the full information and we will investigate any reports we receive.

Police have said they are aware of the residents’ concerns and have stepped up patrols in the area.

A spokeswoman for the PSNI said a 21-year-old man has appeared in court charged with attempted burglary in connection with the recent incidents.