Vulnerable city teenagers will turn to county lines gangs because of boredom and the cost of living crisis unless more money is put into vital youth clubs.
That is the dire warning from Labour county councillor Chrissie Rumsby.
Ms Rumsby, who represents the Mile Cross Ward, supports vulnerable families in the area at the Phoenix Centre in Mile Cross Road, supported by other organisations including The Common Lot and Mancroft Advice Project.
She said the city had some groups for young people and the county council was putting in money to bolster activities for youth services, after government cuts forced many groups to stop around 2010, but the councillor claimed more work urgently needs to be done.
Her fears, reiterated by Costessey youth worker Kerry Johnson, come after a series of incidents of anti-social behaviour including play areas being vandalised, fences being kicked down and graffiti being sprayed along Marriott's Way on the edge of Taverham, benches being ruined and reports of fighting in Sprowston.
Ms Rumsby, who praised the work of youth groups including Sprowston Youth Engagement Project, said: "Over several years youth services have been decimated to virtually nil because of government cuts.
"The cost of living crisis is putting people under pressure to join county lines groups because they think you get big bucks by joining gangs.
"The problem is the lack of things to do for youths which make them more susceptible to being in a gang. Gangs have changed because there is more county lines activity and more vulnerable people are caught up in that. I fear for them because once you get involved you cannot get out.
"You see more young people getting dragged into low-level crime like shoplifting. What we need is money going into youth intervention.
"It is okay saying we have got to do something about it but we need deeds and for the issue to be taken seriously. We need resources. We are not doing enough for youngsters.
"Not all young people take part in anti-social behaviour and there are a lot of good children and teenagers. We live in a society where there is pressure on young people."
She feared thre could be an escalation of violence between young people, including the use of knifes.
Ms Rumsby had major concerns about the amount of "abject poverty" across the city and how many more people would fall into it through the cost of living crisis.
Miss Johnson, 46, from Hellesdon, who runs The Qube and CYP youth groups in Queen's Hill Community Centre and Costessey Centre, said: "County lines gangs are a worry because it can be right under your nose or hidden.
"If there are no youth services, there is nowhere for young people to go and engage with others or positive adults in the community.
"Anti-social behaviour happens when young people are bored. They have noting to do seven days a week and not all of them have positive experiences at school or good relationships at home.
"Children are the next generation and if we as a society don't look after them they are not going to do well as adults."
She added the less positive engagement young people have with adults, there is a higher risk of them developing mental health issues including self-harm and drug and alcohol problems.
The youth worker, who has three children aged five, seven and nine, added it was important youth clubs and activity sessions should be inexpensive which was why her clubs, funded by Costessey Town Council, were £1.
"With the cost of living crisis, families are going to assessing how much they can afford. We need to petition parish councils to allocate money for youth clubs," Miss Johnson said.
She believed £7,000 a year was enough to run a club.
Gary Blundell, Costessey Town Council member and father of three teenagers aged 14, 16 and 18, said: "There are some fantastic children out there who don't do silly things but there is an issue of there being nowhere for them to go when they grow up. We need better funding for them."
Call for prevention work
Not enough preventative work is being done to help young people who struggle or take part in anti-social behaviour, according to an expert.
Life coach and psychologist Sam James, from Reepham, who is director of Resilient Pathways which helps young people through teaching coping mechanisms, said: "There is not any prevention work done. For a lot of young people who go down the criminal or anti-social behaviour route, it isn't impossible to change but it is difficult."
The mother-of-two, who has a 12-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl, added: "When done well, youth work is done by young people. They can take ownership. If they are at the heart of decisions they can police it because it is something they have created."
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