On the Cowgate estate in Newcastle’s West End, 69 per cent of children live in single parent households, of which 91% are dependent on state benefits.
"There is nothing to do", says Phillip Ritzema, 13. Amanda Shields, 12, says, "I just hang around in the streets because there's nowhere else to go." Another young resident admits there was a park - "but it got wrecked".
"There's too many girl gangs and 'busies' (police) floating around, so you can't really go anywhere," says Lindsay Marchant, 14, and Charlene Mackay, 10, notes that, "The motorbikes are dangerous because they can run the little bairns over." But according to Lorraine Balloch, 13, "The drug dealers, joyriders and burglars are the worst."
Relations between young people on the estate and the police are a sore point. Maxine Tolson, 14, and Tony Nichol, 12, describe the situation as "terrible" and asked, "Why do the police encourage us to disrespect them by swearing at us?".
Stephen Boyle, 12, comments, "I sometimes don't like Cowgate because people burgle your houses and steal all of your nice things."
About the team
Newcastle interviews conducted by editors Hayley Sager, 14, Amy Wood, 15, and Steven Boyle, 14.
