A DUNFERMLINE couple fed up with persistent anti-social behaviour near their home said they’ve stopped asking the police for help.

They claim that, since the change to Police Scotland, there’s been little or no response to repeated calls to deal with gangs of youths boozing and causing bother on their doorstep.

And although they suspect drugs are being peddled to youngsters in the area, close to Pittencrieff Park and Dunfermline Abbey, they say there’s little point in picking up the phone.

They’ve been backed by an ex-police officer who told the Press there are too few officers to deal with any trouble and that “when you phone the police, nothing happens”.

The retired couple, who want to remain anonymous, said: “It’s cyclical, we’ve seen it all before but you never get any response from the police now.

“We used to go to the community engagement meetings. You could speak to the police face-to-face, you could report matters to them and the next month, the officers always came back and said exactly what they’d done to try and resolve it.

“That all stopped when it became Police Scotland instead of Fife Constabulary. There’s a lack of community engagement and no method to report back to us.

“We never see a police officer here now and we used to see them a lot.

“It gets to the stage that nothing gets done, you don’t bother reporting it any more.”

They continued: “One evening, about 8 at night, a small youth approached us and said he could sell us ‘horse’ (heroin) for £5!

“As an older couple, I don’t think we looked like we’d be interested but he obviously felt comfortable enough asking us.

“We reckon they were dealing drugs up there in the garden, there’d be an older person turning up about 7 each evening when the groups of youths had gathered.

“There are no cameras there. They had a dummy one up for around three months but it didn’t really do much.”

They said they hadn’t reported their concerns about drug-dealing to the police.

Last month’s fire near to the new peacock enclosure in the Glen prompted a former policeman, who asked not to be named, to contact the Press.

He said underage youths were drinking alcohol and starting fires – there were five in the park between March and August – and claimed that police were either too slow to respond or didn’t attend at all.

“Starting a fire is extremely dangerous and the consequences could be dire,” he said. “But what are the police doing?

“Some of these places in and around the Glen get a visit every weekend from groups of youths, just hanging about and drinking Bucky.

“There have been girls as young as 14 lying on the pavement in a state of undress, so drunk they couldn’t bite their finger, but you phone the police and nothing happens.

“They don’t come near. On a weekend, there used to be about 30 cops, now you’re lucky if there are five personnel between Kincardine Bridge and Cowdenbeath.”

He claimed that a lot of the youths who have been causing trouble were gathering near the Garden for Heroes and the Abbey.

The retired couple, who stay nearby, said: “Groups of youngsters congregate at the pergola in the memorial garden (in Monastery Street). We’ve seen them getting dropped off.

“Who gives them the drink, I don’t know, but they are between 13 and 16, they are drinking alcohol and the police know about it too.

“You wonder what the parents are doing, letting this happen. They must smell the drink off them when they come home.

“For a while, there were boys of about 12 or 13 and there’d be young cackling girls with them, making a real noise.

“Then you got the older boys sniffing about, because there were young girls there, but thankfully that seems to have stopped.”

They added: “A few weeks ago, our paper bin disappeared and there was a large black burn mark in the memorial garden, so we’re thinking they set it alight.

“I hear when it burns there are strong fumes given off so maybe they’re getting high off that.

“They leave litter and bottles behind. It’s a nuisance. They can be very noisy but you get used to it living here.

“We often report these yobs to the police but because it’s not a 999 call, they never come.

“You have to call 101 and no-one answers the phone at Fife Council either.”

The former policeman agreed and said: “There are no direct phone lines into any of the police stations now, that’s all shut too. They don’t want the public to talk to the police.

“We used to have calls with, for example, someone who’d had their house broken into.

“They’d want to know, ‘Have you caught them yet?’ or ‘Any luck finding my jewellery, it’s not worth much but had sentimental value?’ etc – things that people wanted to know or be updated on.

“You can’t do that now. You can only call the call centre at Bilston Glen and they won’t put you through to anyone.”

Inspector Ian Flynn, from Dunfermline Police Station, responded: “A divisional priority as outlined by the public in the Your View Counts survey was to have more visible officers on the streets. We have dedicated community teams across Dunfermline who are embedded in our communities to engage with the public on a daily basis.

“The public are encouraged to speak with officers and raise any issues they may have so that we are aware of concerns and can work to address these.

“Police Scotland utilises a call grading system to ensure priority is given to incidents which require an urgent response, and on occasion where a crime is not in progress, we can schedule a suitable time for officers to visit a complainer.

“Be assured that wherever there is scope for inquiry, we will always ensure this is investigated thoroughly.

“Anyone wishing to report illegal activity or criminality can do so by contacting us on 101, or through Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency always dial 999.”