Vigilante families of soldiers and teachers forced to patrol Southampton streets to ‘scare burglars’ after police abandon estates

A CRIME-FIGHTING band of neighbours have launched night-time patrols to fight back against thieves and burglars plaguing their streets which have been abandoned by cops.

The 40-strong vigilantes roam six housing estates on foot and in cars to scare away crooks armed only with walkie-talkies.

The group were created in response to a string of knife-point robberies, vandalism and burglars tried to break into a pregnant woman's home in Southampton, Hampshire.

This week they solved their first crime after reuniting a bike stolen from an autistic boy after appealing for help from 3,000 Facebook followers.

Hampshire Constabulary admitted it does not have the resources to tackle theft, criminal damage and anti-social behaviour.

But detectives have warned the group not to take the law into their own hands.

There are 1,000 fewer police officers on Hampshire's streets compared to nine years ago.

Called SO19 Neighbourhood Watch - after the Southampton postcode they patrol - the volunteers include teachers, ex-soldiers and parents, and want to remain anonymous to prevent any violent reprisals.

A co-creator said: "We aren't a bunch of thugs looking for trouble.

"I started out of desperation. It was because of a lack of police and because there have been so many knife-point robberies.

"There were also a lot of burglaries and we never saw police so we started going out at night to scare burglars away. Its now attracted a lot of people wanting to sign up.

"We don't crack skulls, we aren't vigilantes.

"We hope it will lead to more prosecutions and we want harsher sentences for people committing crimes."

VIGILANTE GROUP

The group boasts former Royal Navy Marines, serving soldiers, teachers and parents and has around 40 names to call upon.

They post photos and videos of their patrols and share information on would-be burglars and teenage gangs on their Facebook page.

Crimes reported to police include teens riding motorbikes without helmets and licence plates, bike thefts and teenagers vandalising a school playground.

One follower posted: "Just fed up of being in the middle of a flaming war zone to be honest."

Another added: "Thank you so much for keeping the neighbourhood safe x"

And a neighbour wrote: "Thank you guys I actually don’t worry about my mum as much anymore. You're all awesome."

Supt Kelly Whiting, Hampshire Police district commander, said: "We met with members last week to discuss their intentions and give them safety advice.

"We understand that communities want to be proactive citizens and work together to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour so we promote active citizenship, however, we do not condone vigilantism.

"Police are the only organisation specially trained and equipped to respond to crime and emergencies.

"We believe the group understand this and that they are concerned with theft, damage and anti-social behaviour offences and want to help the police in addressing these concerns.

"We have explained, with fewer resources, we have to prioritise offences that cause the most harm.

"Those are the most serious violence, domestic abuse and sexual offences.

"We will always deploy to these kinds of offences.

"We ask that people are mindful not to take the law into their own hands or publish information on social media that put themselves or other people at risk."