terrorising nearby residents.

"They have taken over the alley...now they are spilling out of the alley and into the yard,'' Sharonlynn Wilson told The Royal Gazette .

Mrs. Wilson's father and sister live near the group's hangout.

She said she was compelled to publicise her story because authorities -- after months of complaints from residents -- were taking too long to deal with the problem.

"The situation is getting worse and worse. The neighbours are complaining, but nothing is happening,'' she said. "They (the guys) act as if they have no-one to answer to.'' About two or three months ago, nearby residents joined forces to stamp out the menace of the so-called "white wall crew''.

The neighbours cut back trees and cleaned up an area used by the men as a gathering place, Mrs. Wilson explained.

But the 15 to 22-year-olds -- who re-dubbed themselves the "white wall alley crew'' -- simply moved farther along the street into a tribe road.

"Now they're doing the same thing in the alley,'' she added.

They have now claimed the zone as their own with trash cans, chairs, umbrellas, and rocks staking out the area, said Mrs. Wilson.

And she said neighbours can clearly see up to 15 of the brazen youths each night selling drugs, playing football in the street, and playing loud music in the early morning hours.

On several occasions, the men have even threatened her sister and father, she said.

Now her father is afraid to sit outside his own home.

Both United Bermuda Party representative for Pembroke East Central Patricia Pamplin-Gordon and Progressive Labour Party MP Stanley Morton acknowledged they had been contacted about the problem, and had brought the matter to the attention of Police.

Mrs. Pamplin-Gordon also said she had forwarded letters to the Commissioner of Police and the Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety.

Mrs. Wilson went on to say that although Government was spending "millions'' of dollars to create a luxury playground on Parson's Road, the likely result was bleak.

"If you keep moving these guys from spot to spot, they're going to end up down there,'' she said.

"And do you think they're going to care that there are children down there? They don't respect anybody.'' A Police spokeswoman confirmed investigators had been contacted and were aware of the problem.

"We are aware of the situation and not inactive about it,'' she said.

And she commended members of the public who contacted Police and encouraged other persons to do the same.