Vigilante's kill threat

The man, who had covered his face with a balaclava, attacked the youngster after chasing a gang who had been causing trouble in the Lundhill area of Wombwell.

Police say he pinned the youth to the ground on Dove Road, and threatened to kill him if there was any more trouble.

Today Sgt Phil Jenkins, of Wombwell and Darfield Safer Neighbourhood Team, said he took an extremely dim view of people who took the law into their own hands.

He added: "Not only do we have nuisance youths to deal with, we've now got a balaclava-clad vigilante roaming the streets.

"We cannot have people taking the law into their own hands.

"I am all for people working together and forming Neighbourhood Watch groups and taking the right sort of action, but we will pursue anyone who gets involved in any sort of vigilante behaviour."

The boy was not believed to have been injured but his parents complained to police.

The Safer Neighbourhood Team is making inquiries and appealing for witnesses.

One resident of the Lundhill estate said youths had been running through gardens causing damage including ripping out a security camera, throwing stones, and banging on residents' windows.

He said: "It's not just knocking on a window. They're really banging hell out of them and it really takes you by surprise. There are heart attack risks for some of the older people."

Now residents are looking into setting up a neighbourhood watch scheme.

Coun Dick Wraith said: "People should not be challenging these youths. When you pursue them you make yourself a target. You're far better working together and feeding information to the police and letting them deal with it. Let them do their job.

"We support all neighbourhood watch teams. When people work together and share information we've got a better chance of sorting problems."

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