Shop owner tells of raid as balaclava ban enforced

A lone pregnant woman whose shop was raided by balaclava-clad teenagers has described her ordeal as a ban on the face covering came into force in Nottingham city centre.

Nottingham became one of the first cities to introduce the restrictions, which could see £70 on-the-spot fines, confiscation of the face covering and referral to an immediate justice programme requiring community work.

Hannah and Dan Byrne, who run Knit Nottingham in Trinity Walk, said four or five teenagers stole stock and ruined a window display, before returning to stand outside in an act of "intimidation" last June.

Dan added he did not see how the new powers would be enforced "when there's no police in town anyway".

The restrictions are not a blanket ban, but allow police and community protection officers to order someone to remove the face covering if they "reasonably believe" they are being used to conceal their identity to commit crime or anti-social behaviour.

Hannah, 35, said she was pregnant and alone when the group came into wool shop and stole £50 worth of stock.

She said: "I was behind the till and they came in with a litter picker, like throwing it around trying to take all the wool off the shelves.

"Four or five 14-year-olds wearing a balaclava, when I was newly pregnant, it was a bit scary."

Dan, 37, said the group of youths came back the day after.

"I would see [that] as intimidation" he said. "You can't paint that as any other thing."

Dan added he did not see how the new restrictions would be enforced "when there's no police in town anyway".

He said: "All we've got is community support officers and people like that who don't have the power, the police does.

"And they're not scared of them, because they know they can walk off."

Nottinghamshire Police said the incident at Knit Nottingham resulted in a 13-year-old boy being referred to the Youth Justice Service and handed a community resolution with interventions.

Intervention programmes are designed to address the person's offending behaviour and reduce the risk of them committing further offences, a spokesperson for the force added.

Gary Prail, 58, who owns record shop Fac1968, said groups wearing balaclavas climbed on to the roof behind his shop.

"They go around the back and climb up," he said.

"It's not nice when you see a group of 13-year-olds in balaclavas. It doesn't make you feel safe."

He said he did not leave his 18-year-old son alone in the city centre, but more because of drug addicts rather than teenagers in face coverings, and he supports the new rules.

A consultation by the city council received responses from more than 2,200 people, with more than 90% of them supporting action to tackle the issue.

The action in Nottingham comes after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for full face coverings, including those worn for religious reasons, to be banned in public, following masked protesters gathering in Dover.

Elsewhere in the country, Stafford Borough Council approved plans to prohibit balaclavas as part of its updated public spaces protection order (PSPO) earlier this year.

Community leaders elsewhere in the West Midlands added they would like to see their region follow suit.

Ethan Radford, deputy leader of Nottingham City Council, added: "I hope that we see less people in the city centre intimidating other people by covering their face with balaclavas and engaging in anti-social behaviour.

"It's the city centre. It's not a mountain. Unless you're taking part in high-octane adventure sports or in cold weather conditions, why on earth do you need to wear a balaclava?"

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