A HOODED youth in a balaclava tears down the high street on a modified e-bike at 30mph heading straight in the path of an elderly woman.
At the absolute last second, he spins the handlebars, tyres screeching as he darts out of her way missing her by inches.
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This is Swerve – the sick viral game turning the seaside town of South Shields, South Tyneside into a living nightmare.
Along with ‘teen takeovers’ where hundreds of youths swarm areas via TikTok and Snapchat – it’s one of two terrifying pastimes sweeping the town and making local people’s lives a misery.
Takeover is equally terrifying and sees hundreds of teens overwhelm a single area in mass gatherings organised on TikTok and Snapchat.
The games don’t have winners but the objective is clear – to cause as much fear and alarm as possible to the local community.
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Anti-social behaviour has engulfed South Shields – a town which is just a short drive along the coast from Middlesbrough where gang violence has erupted in recent weeks following a horror crash on the A66.
And now residents are fighting back. A Facebook group – South Tyneside – Action for Enforcement has amassed almost 4,000 members in just a few short months with locals sharing hundreds of shocking and traumatising experiences.
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But by far the most common complaint is that of thuggery perpetrated by young e-bike riders.
In the past week a Buddhist monk told how a “young lad” had deliberately rotated the rear wheel of his e-bike to fling grass at him.
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When he challenged the behaviour the thug repeatedly punched him in the face, before the rider’s pal joined in and kicked him to the ground.
South Tyneside Council say a multi-agency approach to motorcycle nuisance has resulted in 80 off-road bikes and similar vehicles being removed over the last year, with further targeted operations continuing.
But on a visit to the town centre, many locals tell us anti social behaviour has become so severe they are scared to leave their homes.
“South Shields is becoming like the Wild West,” said Mark Stephenson, 46, who was shopping with his mum Maureen, 78.
“It’s not always been like this, but children aren’t being brought up properly now and have no moral compass.
“In the summer, kids ruin the town. They come down and terrorise everyone.
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“People don’t want to come out at night because the teenagers are tormenting people.
“They do these things called ‘Teen Takeovers’ which you see on TikTok, where hundreds gather and then rush into places as a group.”
“Police aren’t listening. You just get the PCSO plastic police in the town who can’t do anything. That’s supposed to scare them off but it doesn’t.
“Kids are bored, they decide to torment someone who annoys them or if you’re different.”
Keith Guthrie, 67, who was having a rest on a bench with his wife Janice, gave a shocking account of what it’s like to work in the local Morrison’s.
He said: “Young people will get in the faces of security and say, ‘you can’t touch me’.
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“They will then come in and start throwing things off shelves, I just don’t know why.
“You can’t say anything to them, especially if they live on your street. If you confront them, you worry they will torment you.
“Down the beach, the kids set barbecues alight and drink.
“It’s just getting worse and worse.”
Janice, 64, a council worker, added: “I wouldn’t come down here on my own. I’m too scared. The kids all whizz up and down on the streets on their bikes.
“Police tell lads on their bikes to move on – but they’ve got to do something more about this.
“Parents – they just let their kids do what they want. There aren’t any consequences.”
According to police data reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the West Shields and Riverside precinct, which includes the town centre, has shot up from just 72 in February to 183 in June.
South Shields is home to South Marine Park, which retains much of its Victorian charm, has two children’s play parks and a miniature railway, operating steam trains.
Opposite is Ocean Beach Pleasure Park, a fairground with arcades, which is a draw for families, especially over summer.
This June, a four year old boy and his mum were crossing the road between the fairground and South Marine Park when they were mowed down by a motorbike, which then sped off.
Police have since arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving after the lad was badly hurt in the smash.
Lisa Taylor, 49, manager at Riddicks Sports Bar on Fowler Street in the town centre, says her customers are entertained by the scenes of anti social behaviour they are able to watch from the windows.
“I’ve seen adults antagonising kids, kids antagonising adults, it’s a vicious circle.
“Customers at the bar can look outside the windows and just watch it happen.
“I think it’s almost entertainment, to be honest.”
Like many towns in the North East, South Shields was once a major shipbuilding hub, and there was plenty of work available on the docks and in heavy engineering and coal mining.
However, the disappearance of these industries has left an economic legacy of disadvantage and hardship.
Nearly 45 per cent of South Tyneside’s population live in neighbourhoods within the most deprived 20 per cent in England.
And more than 30 per cent of children in South Shields are deemed to be living in relative poverty.
Linda Wilson, 65, works for the town’s football club.
She was in South Marine Park with her friend Marie Smith, 30, mum to a six-week-old baby boy.
Linda said: “I see a lot of antisocial behaviour in the town centre.
“There are many drunks and alcoholics on the streets.
“They will sit and use abusive language towards people for no reason.
“There are also kids on e-bikes, they flit around and have darted in between us and the baby before.
“It happens all the time. Some wear balaclavas but are never wearing helmets.
“You feel helpless. If you say anything to them you worry what they will say back.”
Sea Change is a social enterprise café which supports neurodiverse people. It opened in 2019 and is located on Ocean Road, close to Sandhaven Beach.
Manager Lauren Hugo, 32, said: “We’ve seen a big rise in anti-social behaviour outside the cafe.
“E-bikes are also a huge problem. Just this week, we saw an e-bike come close to knocking a few people over.
“We also see bikes and scooters zooming up and down the road. Some kids are doing wheelies while wearing balaclavas.
“Children drinking is an issue too. They loiter near here in groups and have a lot of attitude.
“They ask everyone going in corner shops to buy them alcohol, even though they are only around 14 and 15.”
The man behind the social media group South Tyneside – Action for Enforcement is Mark Berriman, 46.
He became vocal about the town’s anti social behaviour problem after unsuccessfully campaigning to become an independent councillor in this year’s local elections.
“If you speak to anyone in South Tyneside, they’ll tell you that ASB is getting worse every week,” he said.
“The message from our council and police seems to be that we don’t have a problem with anti-social behaviour, but we do.
“That’s not the reality of what people are seeing on the streets.”
The 46-year-old added: “Kids on bikes are playing a game called Swerve, which is terrible.
“It’s a game designed to intimidate and frighten people.
“The kids will either swerve at the last second, or the terrified pedestrian will move out of the way. Its also called chicken.
“Teen Takeovers are something we see a lot of through the Facebook page. It is mainly groups of teens using social media to organise fast meet ups in parks, estates and hotspots.
“They move from place to place quickly and it can build into large groups in minutes. A lot of parents do not know it is happening because it is all done on private social media stories.
“It can lead to fights, damaged property and risky riding on e‑bikes and scooters when they all arrive at once. It is getting more common and it is one of the things residents report to us most often.
“Some people are afraid to leave their home, and are scared to speak out for fear of the ramifications.
“It’s awful, we live in such a beautiful town and have so much going for us, but the police and council aren’t pro-active, they are reactive.”
Superintendent Lisa Laverick, of Northumbria Police, said: “As a Force, we take reports of anti-social behaviour seriously and remain committed to working alongside our partners to tackle it wherever it occurs.
“Together with South Tyneside Council, we are taking robust action to address issues that matter most to our communities.
“We know that street drinking, youth disorder and motorcycle-related anti-social behaviour can cause significant disruption, alarm and danger to residents.”
Supt Laverick continued: “A lot of what we do is also around prevention – and again, we regularly work with partners to deliver educational talks within schools and carry out visits to families of young people involved in disorder.”
Cllr Karen Pittuck, Lead Member for Highways, Neighbourhoods and Community Safety at South Tyneside Council, added: “Residents have told us that tackling anti-social behaviour matters to them, and we have listened. The suggestion that the Council is only reacting is simply not correct.
“Working alongside Northumbria Police and other partners, we are carrying out targeted patrols, taking enforcement action against repeat offenders and using a range of powers to tackle issues such as street drinking, youth disorder and motorcycle nuisance.
“There is no quick fix, but we are taking action every day and remain committed to making our neighbourhoods and town centres safer for everyone.
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“We would also encourage residents to continue reporting incidents. Every report helps us and our partners build a clearer picture of where problems are occurring and target action where it is needed most.”