[Kate!]

This isn't something I have talked about openly on the forum before, though I have discussed it in chat/pm mode with a few members out of despair, lol.

Myself and my son live in social housing and for the past, well roughly almost four years, we have been suffering terrible and escalating anti social behaviour from the neighbours kids, I'm not just talking one family, there are a few. It's a long time to put up with this sort of thing and to be frank I am pretty much at the end of my tether with it all.

For a start, we don't really fit in on the estate, I'm far from being any kind of a snob, but I just don't like the general mentality, no intentions of working, milking the system, having loads of kids who also are never going to work for a living. The constant foul language in everyday conversation, every other word is F this and B that, and more. The gangs of kids that spit at people as they pass. I exaggerate not. Anyway, being a person who sticks up for herself, I've never shied away from asking people to stop their behaviour. Apparently this was a massive mistake. It shouldn't have been, because any decent people would have reacted reasonably. Since then, in the past few years, it's escalated to the point where I get verbal abuse on a daily basis from kids aged anything from 5/6 to your physically threatening 16 year olds (the girls are worse than the boys) These families are huge. I approached the housing association to see if they could help and got told that it might be better to just let it calm down/blow over as if they got involved it would probably get worse. No help whatsoever. Meanwhile it continues.

I started to keep an antisocial behaviour diary, and handed it in to the Police Station. My estate has a dedicated Police Station base in the middle, it's like Beirut on a night. Of course, the Police then act on what is put down in these diaries, and hey presto, the abuse steps up a notch. Last Winter my son and myself had been to the LaserQuest Arena in the town centre and it was late when we came home, we were both physically assaulted by two youths from one of these families, who I took to court and guess what they got? 30 hours of community service.

It's still ongoing and this weekend I have finally snapped, my son came in really really upset, some of the younger kids in one of the families had been shooting at him, bare arms and face, with those BB pellet guns. He had run home and came in, in a right state. He's been brought up not to hit other kids and he's a respectful lad. I was absolutely livid. I went out and over to the house. Within two minutes, literally, the street was full of these families who have been causing all this, must have been 25/30 people there, all shouting the odds AT ME! Let me tell you I gave as good as I got, and lost my temper completely, told them what I thought in no uncertain terms.

The response, "they are only kids" was all they could come up with.

My argument was that they shouldn't have these guns/ be supervised, but basically I was wasting my breath and they didn't give a ****. I was threatened physically, and said i was going to report it to the police.

Again, the typical response "there's a lot of us and one of you, we'll all say you're lying".

Next thing, someone had actually been down to the Police Station and they arrived.

Outcome, I was taken home by a female officer while the two male officers told them all to wind their necks in. They then came to talk to me and said because I'd kicked off in retaliation they couldn't/wouldn't do anything further and I should think twice before standing up to them again. One of the male officers said "You'd better calm down or you'll be arrested" to me. Knobhead.

I want to take this further, so what do I do? Has anyone reading ever experienced stuff like this? What would you do?