‘Youths shot at our house with airgun’

Susan Good, 43, of Grantham Green, was sitting in her front room watching television with her 14-year-old daughter, Danielle, on the evening of September 29, when they heard a loud bang at her door.

One of her daughter's friends, a 16-year-old who does not wish to be named, was standing outside when the airgun pellet shot past him and into the door.

"I didn't know what was going on," said Mrs Good. "I just heard this piercing noise and jumped out of my chair."

Mrs Good ran out of the house to a nearby alleyway, where three youths were standing. One of the boys was holding an airgun rifle case but they denied firing the shot.

She said: "I followed them back to their house but they just started screaming at me and calling me names, so I went home to call the police.

"My friend's daughter then approached me and said she saw one of those boys picking up the gun from the bushes."

Mrs Good called the police to report the incident at 10pm but they did not arrive until an hour and a half later.

"I was so angry," she continued. "My door was shot with an airgun and the police couldn't even make it a priority. When they came, they didn't even go round to the boys' houses, even though I told them they were seen with a gun.

"Borehamwood is a lawless town because the youths seem to run riot with no redress at all. Do the police think it's acceptable for youths to walk around with air rifles?"

A police spokesman said: "When the call came in, it was on a shift handover. Officers were dispatched to the incident shortly after the initial call. Unfortunately, they initially went to an address in Bushey in error.

"Another unit was then instructed to attend and arrived at the location at 11.21pm. We accept there was a delay in this matter and one of the senior officers will shortly be making contact with the lady concerned."

An 18-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the incident.