An 88-year-old's peace has been shattered by a gang of teenagers who gather outside her York home.

Attempts by brave Yvonne Hamelin to move them on resulted in a youth exposing himself to her, she said.

The gang of more than 15 use a patch of grassland at the side of flats at the corner of St Stephen's Road and St Stephen's Square, Acomb.

They swear, drink and damage trees and hedges, said Miss Hamelin.

But she claimed the worst problems came from them kicking a football against the flats' walls.

"The reverberations are really bad and my TV actually shakes when the ball hits the wall," she said.

"Once I went out in my dressing gown to complain and one of the youths kicked the ball right at me. I had to duck behind a fence to stop it hitting me.

"I'm glad I'm going deaf because I can turn my hearing aid off and try to ignore it, but it means I have to guess what's being said on the TV."

City of York Council has called a meeting about security after being told of the problems faced by Miss Hamelin and her neighbours.

A council spokesman said: "We are already investigating ways of improving the situation which involves groups of youngsters congregating on the communal areas to the flats.

"In the past we have put up security fencing funded via the residents' association estate improvement budget to make the areas more private, and have planted trees to limit the amount of open space to discourage ball games."Extra security measures will be considered at the next estate improvement meeting for Cornlands Residents Association next week.

All residents in the area have had a leaflet inviting them to attend so they can raise issues of concern and agree their priorities for estate improvements from the £11,000 budget."

Miss Hamelin's problems have been long running, she said.

"It really is very, very bad," she said.

"If I was a lot younger I would move, but I like my little flat. I don't want the upheaval of it now."

Updated: 08:32 Friday, June 29, 2001