A PARK once a favourite of young children, dog walkers, and families has been branded as “like the Bronx”.

Gladstone Gardens, off Gladstone and Beryl Roads, in Barry, has – for the last nine months – become a haunt for all forms of anti-social behaviour.

Residents say their lives have been blighted, with up to 50 people gathering at the site from around 8pm to 2am daily in all weathers.

A resident, who did not want to be named, said: “Council staff come every morning and clear up the mess left behind by these youths.

“There are drugs, alcohol, destruction of property, noise until 2am, urinating at the side of the apartments, foul language and the list just goes on.

“The fence at the top of Beryl Road has been replaced three times in nine months.

“The young people are being pushed out of the park as these youths are intimidating.

“We’ve had young people vomit because they’ve had too much alcohol.

“There was a burnt-out van.

“It’s like The Bronx.

“They seem to want to destroy things.”

“The police and council have been continually informed,” the resident added.

Buttrills ward councillor, Ian Johnson said the redevelopment of Gladstone Gardens had been really popular and the park was often full of life during the daytime.

“Unfortunately, there is a group who are breaking the park’s alcohol ban and their anti-social behaviour and late-night noise is upsetting local residents,” he said.

“I have raised this frequently with the local PCSOs and in police briefings with Barry Town Council.

“Since I complained about this at the start of Spring, the park has a police marker on it, which means that they visit regularly to monitor the situation.

“However, this clearly hasn’t been enough to stop large numbers congregating and being noisy.”

Vale council operational manager for neighbourhood services and transport, Colin Smith said anti-social behaviour of this type was a police matter and the council had requested PCSOs increase patrols at this location.

“CCTV coverage in the area has also been increased, while there has been a leaflet drop to encourage residents to report incidents of anti-social behaviour by calling 101,” he added.

South Wales Police said it was aware of a number of anti-social behaviour incidents in recent months.

Barry Inspector Paul Tinkler said: “This kind of behaviour can be intimidating for residents - especially the elderly and vulnerable.

“We have increased our patrols in order to address the community’s concerns and we want those individuals committing acts of anti-social behaviour to know that it will not be tolerated.”