Police apologise for ignoring naked gang’s park rampage

A police bungle meant officers weren’t sent to tackle a gang of naked youngsters rampaging through Cowdenbeath in Fife, Scotland, last weekend. Scared members of the public who watched the events unfold in the town’s public park called the police, to no avail.

Instead the gang continued the mayhem unabated, setting fire to a wheelie bin and sneering at firefighters sent out to tackle the blaze. The incident has seen Chief Superintendent Alan Spiers admit that “regrettably” the calls received at the police control room had not been logged correctly and local officers were not dispatched.”



Cowdenbeath MSP Alex Rowley has written to Chief Superintendent Garry McEwan, asking him to investigate how the police responded to the incident. “The level of behaviour in the park that local residents have to deal with is completely unacceptable and I am taking this up with the local station in Cowdenbeath. Some residents tell me they were told ‘the police don’t put out fires’ which is just not the response they were looking for when reporting anti-social behaviour, vandalism and fire-raising.”

Local community inspector Hannah Morrison stressed local officers did appreciate anti-social issues in Johnston Park and Leuchatsbeath Drive, bordering the park, and were working to resolve them. Additional patrols have been carried out by community officers and wardens over the last few weekends. Regular visits will also be made to local licensed premises to identify the issue of proxy sales of alcohol to young people.