ATTACK victim Doug Unwin is encouraging other sufferers of violent crime in west York to join him at a public meeting to discuss the issue.

York MP Hugh Bayley was prompted to organise a meeting after Mr Unwin visited him to discuss his ordeal and find possible solutions to youth violence.

Communities in Acomb and Dringhouses have witnessed a rise in the number of serious attacks on residents by youngsters in the last three months.

Mr Unwin was scarred for life after being smashed on the head with a mini-scooter and punched in the face, after he asked youths to stop leaning on his hedge outside his home in Kingswood Grove, Acomb.

Teenage gatecrashers punched and threw a metal table at youth club leaders at the Moor Lane Centre, Dringhouses, after they were ordered to leave for causing serious damage.

The meeting will give residents the chance to grill representatives from York Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and other agencies about their ordeals.

Mr Unwin said: "Residents are being attacked and harangued by gangs of youths, but they are reluctant to kick up a fuss because they don't think anything will be done about it."

Mr Bayley, who staged a similar meeting in Tang Hall, said: "I've had a huge response."

The meeting will be held at the Acomb Parish Church Hall, in Front Street, on Saturday, February 21, at 10.30am.

Updated: 09:54 Saturday, February 07, 2004