'It's getting out of hand': meet the man keeping Kettering's Ise Lodge estate safe

A Kettering man has vowed to patrol one of the town's largest housing estates in a determined bid to to crack down on low-level crime and anti-social behaviour

Former prison officer Stuart Tidball has set up the Ise Lodge Patrols group to inform residents and organise evening walks in streets where suspicious activity has already been spotted.

He has been urging residents who witness intimidation by groups of youths or people acting suspiciously to report incidents to the police - and if they are unable to he will report incidents for them.

Mr Tidball, 37, said: "We are not vigilantes. I have lived on the estate all my life and it's getting out of hand.

"It is getting worse. Groups of youths hanging around the shops, threatening people. There have been a couple of issues with staff being threatened.

"I want people to report anything to the police. Don't just ignore it, report it. I will do the reporting on the behalf of the residents.

"The police are saying there aren't any reports. If there aren't any statistics for the police, there's no evidence. We are now classed as a rural location by Northants Police and we have one PCSO.

"We are not out to confront people, it's purely fact finding. It's not so much patrols as reports. I have no idea why people don't report incidents.

"I grew up here and there's people who are trying doors of cars and houses. There's anti-social behaviour at the shops and it's happening every day.

"I fully understand the police and the local authority's funding - there's nothing realistically they can do about it all."

As a former prison officer Mr Tidball has been trained in conflict management techniques and is confident that should he be confronted he could diffuse the situation.

He said: "Our patrol members are all vetted and myself included have various licences and training in hostile situations.

"The purpose of this is to make sure ourselves that everything we are concerned about has been logged into the police system so, that when things happen, it will give an accurate reflection of what is happening in our community."

Mr Tidball undertook his first estate walkabout on Tuesday night (January 4), patrolling areas highlighted by concerned residents.

Resident Kit Mallin asked the group to walk past his home off Deeble Road after his CCTV system caught a stranger making their way down his side alley to the kitchen door.

Mr Mallin said: "I feel reassured by the patrols. I would be prepared to contribute some money to the scheme. It's reassuring that someone is about. I have had two incidents of people on my property. I reported both to the police."

Mr Tidball hopes that the need for the patrols will stop when residents start to report incidents, urging people to call Northamptonshire Police on 101.

He added: "We have the right as residents and citizens to walk around the Ise Lodge estate for exercise at evening times and actively be on the lookout for anything that needs bringing to the police’s attention.

"Until such time that an effective or official policy has been implemented to make us feel safe in our own homes we will continue to reach out to those who want us.

"The estate is a lovely place to live. It's got a really good community spirit. I hope that people will get the message to pick up the phone - help the police by reporting anything."