HAIRDRESSER Patricia Tucker is standing up to bully boy racers who are causing misery in Risca.

Householders along Commercial Street say life is being ruined by up to 20 boy racers who take over the Lidl car park in the evenings - just yards from the town's police station.

Most locals were too fearful of repercussions to talk to the Argus. Mrs Tucker, 59, who has run the hairdressers 'Salon Patricia' for the past thirty years, said her shop windows were smashed after she asked a rowdy mob in the car park to keep the noise down.

Mrs Tucker said: "I said to them, 'Would you mind keeping the noise down?', and they said to me, 'Watch your windows, we will have you back'. "Within two days my windows had been smashed - but they won't put the fear of God into me.

"You can't say anything to them without getting the bare bottom or a sign. I have lived in Risca for 30 years and I have never seen anything like it."

The boy racers arrive in cars soon after the foodstore closes and stay until the early hours of the morning, with blaring stereos and revving engines. Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: "Sometimes I have days where I have to be up at 4.45am to work early and I have only had an hour of sleep because they have been in the car park making a racket until 3.45am.

"This is not just on the weekend, it is every single day and it is getting worse."

Risca councillor Keith Griffiths said: "Somebody has to crack down on this because it is certainly only a matter of time before there is a serious accident there."

Police Constable Andy Harris, the crime and disorder reduction officer for Risca, said: "We are aware of the problem and we are looking at various ways of stopping it. It will be sorted." Lidl refused to comment, but a spokeswoman for Caerphilly county borough council said: "We are aware of the problems that the residents have raised. We are working with the police to resolve them as quickly as possible."

The Argus has previously reported how Blackwood was plagued with boy racers over the past few years until police adopted a pro-active stance towards them.