'I can't see it stopping': young people in Middlesbrough warn gangs are out of control after seven killed in crash

From the Newshound archive · first published 24 September 2026.

Riders in balaclavas tear through Middlesbrough after dark on quad bikes, while young residents say gang crime has spiralled beyond the reach of police following a crash last month that killed seven people, including two officers. Boxers at Hemlington Boxing Club describe the sport as their only lifeline away from the streets, set against a backdrop of the north-east recording the UK's highest proportion of young people outside education, employment or training. The town's drift toward lawlessness has drawn national attention.

Dylan, 20, a boxer and joiner, says gangs recruit openly on street corners: 'You could walk around the corner and there's just a gang of lads stood there and they shout you over.'

The Centre for Social Justice estimates that around one in five 16 to 24-year-olds across the north-east is not in education, employment or training.

'It stops you going down these bad tracks of crime, drugs, and what most of the lads my age are doing,' Dylan says of boxing — but adds he has no hope the violence will end.