More victims have told of their years of torment by yobs following the tragic case of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter.
Melissa Robinson, who has learning difficulties, told the newspaper of four years of fear when she was harassed by a gang of youths, aged between 12 and 16 and says between 2002 and 2006 she was targeted because of her disability.
She said: "I got to the point where I was so scared about what was going to happen next. Eggs were thrown at the house as well as stones – it was a constant stream of abuse because they could see I got on a bus for a special school. I was called 'dippy' and 'stupid'. It really hurt me to hear that. I found it hard to cope with."
Miss Robinson, who has since moved, said: "Just because I'm born different it's not my fault and why do we have to put up with hate crime? I called the police once about the problems but they said they couldn't help me.
During the Pilkington inquest, former Leicestershire assistant chief constable Chris Tew, outlined the force's policy changes and training programmes put into place after the pair's deaths.
In December 2007, two months after Fiona Pilkington commited suicide, it was decided it would become policy to categorise repeated offences against disabled people as hate crimes, meaning they would be taken more seriously.
Before this, the Pilkington family's calls were dealt with as incidents involving "anti-social behaviour".
Driving down that road this morning I noticed that the police presence and the TV vans have all disappeared. It looks like the yob family haved been moved for their own protection and, more than likely, given new identities!
The road was strangely quiet, I never saw a soul. Now somebody in another area is about to inherit some problems. Have you had a new family move in near you in the last two days?Labels: Anti-social behaviour, Police |
