Kids playing with balls in the street.

Bellanonna we do have a back room we can use and my daughter prefers to be in there when the footballs are out. I actually feel less stressed if I can see where they are and what they are up to. When you can see the ball heading towards the front door it isn't such a shock when it hits.

This has been going on since the T family moved in nearly 4 years ago. YT does go to school so is only around in the evenings and weekends. BT hasn't been to school at all since they moved in. GT used to go sometimes but I think has probably left now. Neither of the parents work.

Previous years the local community policing team have been very helpful so we'll contact them again. BT was put on an acceptable behaviour contract a couple of years ago which did help for a while.

Nobody does it here as the ball quickly ends up in the river

BeEmerald

Do you think it’s wise to post the photograph in case someone reacts to it close to home ? I’m concerned it could make things worse.

I did think that too.

Unless Cressida is the Cressida of course in which case she could slap on an ASBO.

Do you think it’s wise to post the photograph in case someone reacts to it close to home ? I’m concerned it could make things worse.

A difficult situation for you, I guess your main issue is the damage being caused by the balls rather than children playing in the street. In any area with mixed ages living close by, children are often seen as a nuisance and indeed can cause trouble especially if their parents are not around.

I am sure most of us can remember playing outside our houses for hours, our favourite game was French cricket or rounders and I’m sure many of our hits went wild. But my parents would not have allowed us to be rude and I’m sure would have paid for any damage - not that I remember any but then there weren’t many cars parked on the street.

When my children were young, they played outside my house if I was too busy to take them to the park, skateboarding was the craze then and my son did get told off by a neighbour for putting wax on the edge of the kerb to grind along. I apologised and made him restrict the wax to the area right outside our house and made him stop in the evenings. I did have a wry smile a few years later when the neighbours son was being noisy outside on a skate ramp his dad made!

Awful situation to be in. You could contact your local PCSO, although it is not illegal to play ball games in the street it can be considered anti-social behaviour. If the officer is there to see it they could be issued with a warning. Ask to be kept anonymous so there is no come back on you.

Difficult one.
My DC used to play football and tennis out on the very quiet road but it wasn't near any windows and now neighbours' children do the same sometimes.
However, the parents don't join in and we haven't had any balls hitting windows. If a ball goes on our garden they'll wave and say sorry if I'm there.

What kind of people are they? Perhaps they might not take kindly to being asked if they could go to the park so saying something might make things worse, more's the pity.
Perhaps the neighbours who are unhappy about this could all get together and ask if they'd mind not aiming balls at houses.

I think it could be approached with any laws they could be breaking and giving then a warning

In the past, I have had similar problems but the adults have never "played" in our cul de sac and thankfully the children think they are now too old. There are 16 houses and two flats and the flats were single glazed and one window got broken. The street emptied like magic but not for long.

Could photos be taken surreptitiously in case evidence is needed later? I do not think there is an answer because they do not care about property.

You have my complete sympathy Cressida. Would there be any point in speaking to the parents? Several parents I suppose. This used to happen where my mother lived. It was a close and balls were always bouncing off car roofs. In time those children grew up and the problem went away.
Do you have a back room you could relax in and where you would be away from this stress? I do feel for you.