Masked man delivers threat to 'drug dealers' as he smashes car with axe before dropping it from forklift truck

A group of villagers have turned vigilante after complaining that the police are failing to halt a soaring crimewave in their area.



One resident of Blackrod, Greater Manchester has even posted a video online of a man clad in balaclava attacking a car with an axe as he sends a message to drug dealers.



He then winches the vehicle up 10ft in the air on a forklift truck and drops it to the ground.



In the 38 second Facebook video, he tells the camera: "To the criminals of Blackrod who think they can go around robbing f*****g shops, stealing cars like this, dealing f*****g drugs, driving round estates, pinching people's tools.



"You're playing with the wrong vigi f*****g vigilantes.



"Now get your f*****g cars and your drugs and "f**k off."



The video follows reports that groups of locals have been wandering the area armed with baseball bats and other weapons.



Posts on the video congratulate the act however others expressed doubts about the action being taken.



The person who posted the video wrote: "Everyone in Blackrod is living in fear of these scum bags robbing house and vehicles.



"Something is done about it and people start moaning. We can't win. The vehicle was not reported as stolen."



Another writes: "Well it's coming to something when some people have to take matters into their own hands to make the town safe well done."



Another said: "Scary that it has come to this hope the "Vigilantes" don't end getting into more trouble from the police than the scumbags terrorising our village."



While another writes: "I understand the sentiment but in my opinion this is not the way to deal with it ! ...Someone is going to get hurt or in serious trouble ..I don't know what the solution is but it definitely not this !!.."



Cllr Isabel Seddon, chair of Blackrod Town Council, urged residents not to take matters into their own hands.



She said: "The council feels strongly against any vigilantes. We are totally confident that it can be dealt with by the correct authorities.



"It is very negative to have people talking about taking matters into their own hands. The council's view is that this should be discouraged and we hope that the police will be able to step up and protect the residents in the way we would like."



She said although she thinks the fear of crime is greater than the actual crime it is unusual for Blackrod.



Describing it as an 'unfortunate flutter' Cllr Seddon said: "I have lived in Blackrod for 40 odd years and have never felt threatened. It is not a violent place but that makes any crime seem unusual.



"I would not say we have had a spate. I don't know what the cause is but this is unusual - whether it is a sign of the times with a lot of young people unemployed I do not know.



"It is not just Blackrod that no longer has a dedicated community police officer but this type of crime is happening at night. Local police officers are an advantage to any community but I do not think it's down to a lack of local police.



"I think there is an unnecessary fear and there has been an extreme reaction from some members of the public because it is in contrast with the peaceful village that we are used to. It is unusual for Blackrod so it's frightening people."



A resident, who gave his name as Eddie, 71, said there had been a few break-ins over the last few months.



The retired wagon driver said: "It is happening to cars too. There's not been a lot but you never saw it like this 10 or 15 years ago."



Cllr Ann Cunliffe, ward councillor for Horwich and Blackrod, said she had arranged a meeting with the local police team to discuss crime and the vigilante video.



She said: "It is a problem across Bolton. The area is suffering from a shortage of police officers which is due to cuts from central government."



The latest crime figures available show there were 156 crimes reported in Horwich and Blackrod in November compared to 143 during the same period last year.



Of those more than 30 were for anti-social behaviour. There were six burglaries reported, 18 vehicle crimes and 17 for criminal damage and arson.



A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said: "How we respond to incidents is based on the threat harm and risk that each incident poses; where there is an immediate threat to someone's life, the response will be quicker than the response for a crime that has already happened.



"This is because we have to allocate our resources appropriately in order to protect those in our community who are the most vulnerable and prevent people from coming to harm.



"We will do all we can, by working with our partners and other agencies, to prevent crime before it happens and solve them where possible but we need people to work with us, not against us. Taking matters into your own hands is not the way to solve these issues.



"To solve a crime, we can use a lot of different resources available to us including the intelligence we receive from the public, from covert enquiries and from observations so we need you to let us know about crime in your area - it may already form part of an ongoing operation and your information could be the piece of the jigsaw we need to solve it."



She said there are a number of PCSOs across the Horwich neighbourhood beat team, which covers Blackrod, and they are deployed on each shift where the greatest 'threat, harm and risk is'.



She added there are also ongoing projects across the area with local officers working with partner agencies to resolve issues in the area.