A group of young men who call themselves the "Gun Alley Posse" and have reportedly disturbed tourists and residents alike in the West End have now painted graffiti all over Cambridge Road in tribute to two of their "boys".

A handgun, a crown and names of the two dead men were sprayed on the road with black paint. The large piece of graffiti hosting what is claimed to be the "Gun Alley Posse's" insignia was painted onto the Sandys road between Wednesday night and Thursday morning this week.

The graffiti holds the initials "G.A." under a crown, which reportedly stands for "Gun Alley", and "R.I.P. Tek and Colin", said to be in remembrance of Colin Francis and Tek Mallory.

A neighbourhood shopkeeper said: "Normally when one of their friends die, the graffiti appears, but they've never bothered us in all their years down there."

Another store worker said the initials "definitely" stood for "Gun Alley", a group of young men who frequent the Cambridge Road area. The gun insignia also represents this group, she said. She added the rest of the message was likely placed in memory of two members of their group who had died in recent years.

She said "Colin" was in reference to Colin George Francis, who died in a car crash several years ago. Mr. Francis was the victim of a fatal car crash on his 24th birthday in the early hours of October 16, 1995. The crash was reportedly due to the high speeds the car he was travelling in reached which were estimated to be near 90 kilometres per hour by Police.

Mr. Francis was found next to the overturned car on Middle Road, Warwick and was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival due to massive internal injuries.

The worker claimed "Tek" referred to Tekle Mallory, 22, who was stabbed at Ice Queen last year in the early hours of Saturday, July 21. Quincy Stanley Brangman, 22, and Everett Jahni Bean, 18, who are first cousins, were jointly charged with murder.

They have a fixed date for trial on July 17, 2002. It is not known whether the graffiti was painted due to the proximity of the trial.

Several residents in the area said they had no idea about the graffiti and had not seen it yet. Former UBP candidate for Sandys North Edward Bailey also said he knew nothing about the "Gun Alley Posse" nor any graffiti.

One man said he had grown up in the area and that it was only about three years ago that people began hanging around the road. He added most were not from the area. The man claimed one or two lived in the Cambridge Court Apartments and when they started sitting by the road, people from other parishes came up to join them. His wife said: "This used to be a very safe road."

The man said: "I often drive home first and if it looks like something funny is going on, I call my wife and tell her to go down Mangrove Bay Road instead."

The couple said they were not only concerned for the residents on the road but especially for tourists staying at the nearby Cambridge Beaches.

President of Cambridge Beaches, and a member of the West End Community Police Group, Michael Winfield said he is committed to finding a solution to the problem of young men causing trouble in the area. He pointed out that the problem was not only on Cambridge Road but also at the public dock and in part of Somerset Village.

Mr. Winfield stressed there was nothing wrong with the young men congregating, however his problem came when these members of the community were rude or aggressive.

He said: "On some occasions I have had not only tourists, but also staff members tell me they feel threatened. I've heard tourists say: `This is not the Bermuda we thought we were coming to'."

However, he added: "This is a minority. I've heard about others at the end of the road who have been very friendly and even assisted tourists."

Mr. Winfield said several new community officers were working with the tenants and the individuals to try and improve the situation.

He said they had also made a request to Minister of Works & Engineering Alex Scott to remove the roof at the dock, saying it "served no purpose and only encouraged more activity and amplified the sounds made". Mr. Winfield said the Minister had promised to look into it as soon as possible. The Minister was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Mr. Winfield said over the years the problem had increased. He said: "While it comes and goes in phases, the situation is negative overall."

He said he does not warn his guests about the group "Gun Alley", saying: "It's not a consistent thing. Sometimes they are there all the time, and sometimes you don't see them for days."

A storekeeper at Gosling's Somerset Branch, across the road from Cambridge Court, admitted the young men often bought beer from the store but said they had never been a problem. However, he did say: "They make the road look untidy to walk across. The rest of the street is very nice.

"I don't think they've done anything threatening to the tourists that pass by, but they could seem threatening to someone if you weren't used to them."

While the man wished the boys would move elsewhere, he commented: "What can be done? The Police have come here from time to time and have spoken to them. It's a residential unit though, so what can they do? The guys can always say, well these are my friends and I'm on their property. That's the biggest problem."

"They hang out down there in the trees and do their drugs," the resident added.

His wife said: "A couple of years ago they had a couch by the side of the road and they would sit there, stretching out their legs. They were almost daring you to drive by them."

The Gosling's shopkeeper said he too remembered when they had a couch there, but added: "The Government came and cleared that all up."

An elderly woman said the men also tended to congregate on the wall along Somerset Long Bay Park. She said while the boys had never bothered her personally, her cable had been cut several times from them "fooling around" with the wires. She agreed that during the summer months the numbers would probably increase.

Several young men were sitting on the wall, but retreated into Cambridge Court Apartments when asked questions. The Cambridge Court Apartments are where most neighbours claim the disturbances originate. They said "I ain't talking to you" and moved inside the nearby apartments.

Later, one of the young men came out of an apartment and hurriedly confirmed the drawings were done by members of his posse, "Gun Alley". He denied the markings were meant to be malicious and said: "They are to show respect to our boys."

Along the wall which is most often frequented by the group, is a mass amount of other graffiti, reading: "Biggie", "Skull" and "I love Gun Alley".

Since the picture was taken, the gun insignia has been covered up by an unknown person.