Mother faces jail for swearing at neighbourhood yobs
By JAMES INGHAM
Last updated at 10:52am on 11th September 2006

A mother-of-two faces a possible prison sentence after swearing at yobs who have made her life a living hell.

For more than two years a large group of teenage thugs have hounded desperate Donna Appleyard who has had to endure relentless abuse, threats and vandalism.

But unbelievably, when the 32-year-old finally "snapped" over the constant intimidation and swore at one of her bullies she was arrested by police and now faces a possible prison sentence if she refuses to pay a fine.

Irate Donna, from Knottingley, in West Yorks., said: "To say I am furious doesn't go half way to explain how I am feeling. I am absolutely livid.

"I am so angry that I have been made out to be the criminal when all I have ever wanted to do is live in peace and quiet.

"You hear of political madness gone mad and police not concentrating on real crime - but this is unbelievable.

"I still can't believe what has happened. When I tell people they think it is a joke at first, but when they realise that I'm serious they become as disgusted as me.

"These kids have made me, my family and my neighbours feel like prisoners in our own homes. They are intimidating and aggressive and make our lives hell.

"All I did was swear at them because they had pushed me right to the edge and I am in trouble with the law. What about everything they have done to us? I can't believe the police have arrested me and leave them to run wild."

Donna, who had lived on the estate for the last 14 years, said the problems with kids had grown progressively worse over the last two years until it is now unlivable.

On a daily basis Donna claims her and her two children, James 14, and Holly, 12, have to put up with a 15 strong group of kids aged between 12 and 17 hanging around outside their three-bedroom semi-detached home.

Donna and her neighbours have had to endure paint been thrown on their walls, plants ruined from their gardens, and late night noise from the gang who stay up drinking on the streets.

On a daily basis Donna claims she has to put up with kids jumping over fences, trampling gardens, shouting, swearing, kicking footballs against windows and constant intimidating behaviour.

Things finally came to a head on March 30 when a desperate Donna finally lost her temper and told her tormentors to "please, just f*** off."

The youths ignored her but two weeks later officers called at her home. She was told a 13-year-old girl had made a complaint against her.

Donna was arrested and charged under public order offences.

She was handed an £80 fixed penalty notice but refused to pay and was taken to court last month. Magistrates then upped the sum to £120 pounds which Donna must now pay or face a possible jail term.

"I was at the end of my tether and I admit I swore at one of them," Donna said. "But that's nothing compared to what my neighbours and I have suffered.

"When the police came I thought it was because I had complained. I never dreamed they had come to arrest me."

Donna claims she made countless complaints to police about the gang outside her home but nothing has ever been done about them.

She said: "They told me I had scared the children. Well, what do they think has been happening to us for the past year or so?

"I had called police and spoken to our beat officer about six times. Not once had they been round to see me.

"I'm really angry that we've had to put up with this behaviour and then you can be taken to court and fined for shouting back at them."

Donna is so enraged by how she has been treated by the authorities that she is now refusing to pay the fine.

"I don't see why I am having to pay this fine when all I have done is stick up for myself and my family. The police are targeting the wrong people. They have told me that if I don't pay I could go to prison but I am not paying it because in my eyes I haven't done anything wrong."

Donna's next-door neighbours Shirley and George Wardle, are so incensed by the action they have offered to pay half Donna's fine.

Shirley, 69, said: "It is deplorable. Whoever charged her wants to come and live here for a while. The kids' behaviour is enough to make you commit murder, not just swear at them."

But Sgt Neil Haley of the Five Towns Neighbourhood Policing Team defended the fine.

He said: "Officers regularly patrol Knottingley. We appreciate that anti-social behaviour can be frustrating but people should not take the law into their own hands.

"We encourage people to report criminal or anti-social behaviour by contacting the NPT hotline on 01924 294518 or email us at 5towns.npt@westyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

Donna's partner Colin Lamb, 34, a retail manager who also live in Knottingley, added: "This has really upset Donna. She has been made to feel like a criminal despite not doing anything wrong."

Do they still have jury trials in the UK?

The police officer said that people shouldn't take the law into their own hands and that is why this woman was fined. But cussing at somone is not taking the law into your own hands!