Staff at a Sydney shopping centre say they are devastated and exhausted after enduring weeks of damage caused by teenagers, with the repair bill already running into the millions of dollars. Despite contacting police and the school the out-of-control kids belong to, Forest Lodge centre management says they have been told nothing can be done.
Security footage captures teens causing chaos
Security video captures a group of teens, believed to be aged 13 and 14, gaining access to the Tramshed shopping centre’s fire hose despite security guards repeatedly telling them to leave. The group then left the water running for more than six hours.
It has left two of the shopping centre’s escalators no longer working and bathrooms are out of order. One medical business has been forced to postpone patient appointments while they clean up the mess.
Businesses suffer from ongoing vandalism
“You can see fans here that’s been running for over a week now. The sheer destruction, all this power has to be replaced,” Revelop Commercial Manager Alex Michael told 7NEWS. “All the sheeting, we’ve had skip-ins here daily.”
“It’s just very frustrating, very irritating, especially having all these children running around and screaming and leaving a mess everywhere where people try to have lunch,” Luna Hair Collective salon manager Breana Singh said.
Centre management calls for help
Centre management says they have tried to contact police and the school of the teens but were told there’s nothing that could be done. Now they are putting out a plea to parents, hoping someone will step in before any more damage can be done.
“In the last couple of years in particular, this behaviour has gone out of control. The system here has completely failed us,” Michael said. “And it’s not just failing us, it’s failing our local businesses.”
