Spate of shocking destruction on Metro trains sparks vow to 'eradicate' group of vandals from system

Fuming transport bosses have reported eight cases in just three days over the past week in which yobs have kicked out train windows.

One incident at Meadow Well station around 7.30pm on Sunday, December 20, saw 10 windows broken.

And there were seven similar reports between Sunday and Tuesday – with the area of the network around North Shields, Percy Main, and Meadow Well accounting for most of the problems.

Nexus’ chief operating officer Martin Kearney has pledged that 2021 will see more staff deployed on the Metro to combat groups of youths committing acts of vandalism, not buying tickets, and refusing to wear face masks.

He said: “We are going to have a big focus on working with the police and introducing extra roles to combat some of the kids on an evening.

“It is not throughout all of the system every night at all, but we do have groups of kids that we want to eradicate from the system who won’t wear face coverings, who aren’t buying a tickets, and are really putting off the rest of the customers.

“I want them away from the Metro. It is a fare-paying system, use it properly with everyone else. I am talking about those who think it is acceptable to kick windows out or cause issues with other customers.”

Police say that the vandals responsible for the “totally unacceptable” damage this week should come forward now “or expect a knock on your door very soon”.

Sergeant Tim Hand, of Northumbria Police, said: “We are investigating a number of reports of criminal damage on the Metro between Sunday, December 20, and Tuesday, December 22.

“Each of the incidents involved groups of individuals kicking out the windows of carriages before making off. This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and we will deal with anybody found to be involved swiftly and robustly.

“Enquiries are ongoing with our partners at Nexus to identify those responsible. If you were responsible, I’d recommend you to come forward – or expect a knock on your door very soon.

“This year, we have seen a significant reduction in the number of reported incidents on the Metro network and have run dedicated operations that have brought successful results.

“However, the events of the last few nights will not be tolerated and our dedicated officers – working alongside Nexus – will be carrying out targeted patrols along the network to tackle anti-social behaviour or pockets of disorder.

“Anyone with information about the recent spate of offending is asked to report it to police via the ‘Tell us Something’ page of our website or by calling 101.”

The Metro is currently running a reduced timetable due to driver shortages and has experienced severely reduced passenger numbers throughout the Covid pandemic.

And bosses fear that anti-social behaviour could hamper efforts to restore people’s confidence in public transport next year.

Mr Kearney added: “Parents, please find out where your kids are because this is pretty serious stuff. There is a pandemic going on and our employees are working damn hard to make sure there is a service for people.”

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