PEOPLE power is growing in Clifton as the fight against yobs continues.

Plucky residents of Crombie Avenue, part of the Clifton Estate centred on Kingsway North, are setting up their own Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

The move follows the success of schemes in Kingsway North itself, which are helping turn the tide in the fight against crime and vandalism there.

Sandra Martin, one of three Crombie residents who is setting up the new scheme, said: "I'm fed up of a few beep beep's that think they rule the street. It's about time we stood up to them and tried to do something about it.

"It's not spying, it's just being neighbourly, looking after each other's property. It's about community spirit."

Sandra, who moved back to the area where she spent her childhood four years ago, said the street had been relatively quiet since a man was stabbed while visiting a house in Crombie Avenue a few weeks ago.

But she said: "It has a calm, and then a storm, and then a calm again. Sometimes you can sense something is going to happen, like an atmosphere.

"My child should be able to go out on the streets and play without finding needles and things in the gardens. It has happened."Sandra and colleagues plan to deliver leaflets to every home in the street, inviting residents to join.

A public meeting will be held in Burton Stone Community Centre on March 4 to officially launch the group.

Brian Flanagan, co-ordinator of one of two Neighbourhood Watches in Kingsway North, said today: "They get our full support. There are more and more streets forming Neighbourhood Watches now, and the more people that join, the more effective they will be."

Clifton area police commander Insp Howard Harding added: "At the end of the day, the people living there have more eyes and ears than we have. It's all about us working together. We will give them the full support we can."

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