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"A THOROUGHFARE for crime".
That is how some Clews Street residents have described a laneway at the end of their cul-de-sac they desperately want to see closed off.
Two syringes found in the street in the same day last week were the last straw for the residents who, fed up with crime and anti-social behaviour in their street, spoke to the Daily Liberal.
At the heart of the problem, they agreed, was the pedestrian-only laneway that led to East Street.
"These aren't the first syringes we've found," said one woman who was horrified when her son wanted to pick up one of them.
"We were walking to school and he said, 'what's this?'. I quickly said 'don't touch it, it could kill you'. So now what do I say when it's time for his immunisations?
"Our kids can't play out the front because of this."
Also of concern to residents was the number of different cars that pulled up and stopped in Clews Street.
"Vehicles pull up day and night in this cul-de-sac and the drivers wait for people to walk to the car," one resident said.
She said she had no doubt drug deals had been taking place.
One man described an incident in which another man ran up onto his verandah screaming for help after being chased down the laneway by a group of about eight youths, one wielding a bat.
"He was screaming, 'Help me, they're gonna kill me'," the resident said.
"They were threatening him saying, 'If we see you again we're gonna bash you.'"
Another resident said she could not believe her eyes when a woman with children in tow dropped a bag she believed contained drugs on her front lawn, casually picked it up and kept walking down the street.
"She was off her face," the resident said.
"It was a little zip lock bag with her deal inside. She just picks it up and puts it back inside her pocket. Meanwhile these three little kids are walking along behind her."
In another incident, a resident recalled, a house in the street had been broken into and the offender had dumped his old clothes there and had changed into and left with some belonging to the resident.
Youths frequently walked down the laneway and across front yards, the residents told the Daily Liberal.
"You feel intimidated, too scared to even look at them," one resident said.
"Some girls walked past the other night and as they did yelled to me that I was 'a motherf--er'.
"These are young kids. Where are their parents?"
One woman said she felt her complaints had fallen on deaf ears.
"You get sick of complaining to the council and police," she said.
The residents said locking the laneway at night could go some way towards alleviating the problems but would not stop students loitering there during the day when they should be at school.
"They wag school and sit there smoking or on their phones, and the schools have been contacted about it," she said.
"Where's the truancy officer?"
One resident said he had a big problem with a drain at the end of the laneway.
"You never see Council cleaning it, I do it. We ring up every couple of months to get that laneway cleaned up."
Some residents said a petition to lobby council for the closure of the laneway could be the next step.
Meanwhile Dubbo City Council was aware of residents' concerns regarding rubbish in Clews Street.
"In regards to the pedestrian laneway, this laneway has been upgraded at considerable cost to improve pedestrian access and its function for stormwater drainage," Dubbo City Council's manager civil infrastructure and solid waste Steve Clayton said.
"The laneway provides direct access for students to Delroy High campus and also links with the east-west open space corridor through Churchill Gardens and more recently provides access to the Delroy Shopping Centre.
"Locking this walkway is not considered suitable given the laneway is required for access and is used legitimately by local residents.
"Maintenance, including cleaning, of the stormwater drain is in accordance with Council's service levels. Council requires the assistance of residents to be able to identify problem areas so matters can be investigated and appropriate action can be taken. Issues such as dumped rubbish can be reported by phoning Council on 6801 4000.
"The clean up of syringes is best dealt with by phoning the Needle Hotline 1800 633 353 where trained health personnel will come and collect used needles. This too requires some local vigilance and reporting for this to work effectively."
Orana Local Area Command has been contacted for comment.