Interviews
			What attracts you to the Park ? All my mates go on. Something to do. Nought else to do. How often ? 3 nights a week What age range hangs around the park ? 13 to 20. Most are going to the pub now. Is it dangerous or frightening on park When people who we don't know come down and kick off. We've had loads of trouble off Leighers. Said they would come down and batter us. There's been fights. Not many recently. And we always get chased by the Police. And I mean all the time. Whenever they're bored. They'll come down and annoy us so we have to run. Hide our beer in bushes. It's boring when Police come down cos we all run, we get lost from each other, then no-one goes back on the park cos the Police will come back. Cos if they've been once they'll come back that night. How can you change it ? There's never been nought for us to do. So you can't change it. So what can be done to help young people keep off the park ? Community Centres. Under 18 discos. Never anything for us to do. What else would you like to say ? We want light and shelters on the park. It's just pitch black. Say it's just two girls, you and your mate walking through the park. It's scary walking through the park.
What were you saying about the park ? Used to be fun to go on. Used to be safe. Used to be things to do on it. Such as that big slide. Monster slide. Used to be no glass. Used to be able to go on it without your parents. Big road. But as soon as kids started getting knocked down on there, they weren't letting anybody go down on there. When people saw that it was abandoned, it was time for older people to go on and just wreck it. Glass everywhere. Vandalism. Things got took down. There used to be nothing on it at all. And once it got done up again it was for the little ones. And it just used to be rubbish for everyonelse. Then at nightime it used to change again. How does it change through the day ? If it's a sunny day like today you get all mums bringing their little kids on. As it gets to nightime you get the older ones coming on drinking and being noisy. When people are at school, mums have got two-year-olds, they take all them down. Then they'll go home then all schoolkids will come down. Then they'll go home and all older ones will come down and stay on till next morning. Recycling over and over again. But it doesn't get better it gets worse. You don't get new people going on, it's just people from round here cos they've heard things about it at nightime and they just won't come down. What have people heard about the park ? What's the reputation ? Bad reputation. Tyldesley Park's got a bad reputation. If you go on the park it's like the younger ones are learning from the older ones. And the older ones aren't telling the younger ones that it's bad. You get people bringing their brothers down and their sisters and showing them what's on there and it's not something you should be learning younger children. You should get people telling them not to do it, but you don't cos the younger ones just copy off the older ones. Police will come down and tell you off but next day there you are again. Is the reputation deserved ? I don't know. They've brought it on themselves really. They have. By going down to other parks and starting fights with them and then they come down here and start fights with us. .... I used to think that when I were little. I used to go on with all my friends and then we used to go home. I used to think that at 9 o'clock it would be closing and you had a park man going around watching. But it doesn't. It stays open. Even when front gates are locked there's another way through. You get some alright people but you get some idiots. You get alright people who've been going on for ages and just because they've stopped drinking and smoking you'll get idiots who are drunk coming over starting arguments with you. It's just like if somebody abandons the park for a certain length of time and they start going down they think 'oh, look who's down here, stranger again' then you're a completely different person. As if you've never known them and they're all, like, talking about you.
			Do you go to the local park ? I do sometimes. Depends. Sometimes go to mates house. If other friends want to go out drinking we'll just go down to the park and meet up with friends and have a laugh. What attracts you to the Park ? Everyone's there. All of our friends are there. How often do you visit the park ? Once or twice every couple of weeks What would you say the age range is on the park ? Around 12 to 20 odd. Do you ever feel it's dangerous or frightening being on the park, especially at nights ? Well it's not really when there's a few of you on, but when you walk through on your own it's quite scary cos there's no lights or nothing. And there's loads of trees and anybody could jump out at any time. Any strange people walking through. What kind of people do you meet and talk to on the park ? Everybody really. They'll all stop and have a chat with you when they're walking the dog or they're on with other friends. Just anybody. Everyone's dead nice to each other and just talk to anybody. What does the park need to make it safer at nights or more inviting ? It needs to be more open. Lights and open shelters. Not closed shelters. It needs to be more open, brighter. See what's going on. Has there been any major incidents that you know of on the park ? No not really. Just scraps with other people from other towns just coming down and causing trouble. Can you think of anythingelse which could be an alternative to going to the park ? More Youth Centres. Something anyone can hang around and they can feel safe with other people around them. Not in a dark place where anything can happen.