DESERTED streets, curtains shut tight and a policy of not opening your door to anyone at night are the hallmarks of Park North.

Residents are even stuffing socks in their letterboxes for fear of items being deposited on their front door mats.

The reason? Youths, and lots of them.

So it was with a sense of trepidation that myself and a colleague visited the much-maligned estate on Wednesday evening.

It came, after all, just 24 hours after Buckland Close resident Derek Holmes was hospitalised after a gang of yobs stamped on his face.

And as we made our way through the dimly lit streets towards Welcombe Avenue our unease hardly lifted.

In truth, the place was like a ghost town. Strangely subdued, as though residents knew something we didn't.

Spring is supposed to be in the air, yet one could have been forgiven for thinking it was deepest, darkest winter.

We spotted gang number one in the alleyway adjacent to Welcombe Stores just after 9pm.

About five youths congregated in a huddle not far from where Mr Holmes was viciously attacked.

They weren't engaged in any anti-social behaviour that we could see, aside from kicking a football around, but their mere presence was intimidating.

They did not seem to mind us photographing them either, but we deemed it safer to do so from the safety of our car.

As we drove to Kingswood Avenue a few minutes later we passed a group of three girls hanging around some railings.

Again, they did not appear to be causing trouble, they were in full view of Swindon Council's state-of-the-art mobile CCTV camera after all. Yet residents will tell you the anti-social behaviour does not occur where everyone can see it.

It is the nooks and crannies of the estate where you'll find the trouble-makers we were told.

A call from the police tells us to double back to Welcombe Stores. As we get there we find three youths being given a talking to by the area's community beat officer, PC Billy O'Sullivan.

PC O'Sullivan tells us they are not from Park North and popped down from the Cavendish Square area to call on their mates.

They were not too pleased to see our camera but quietly dispersed into the shadows soon after.

Another call from PC O'Sullivan alerts us to two youths hanging around Tavistock Road.

On our arrival one of them was being questioned by officers. He, too, melts away into the background having satisfied the police of his motives for being out and about at night.

Continuing our sweep of Park North we decided to check out some of the estate's other streets, Dulverton Avenue appeared calm, Banwell Avenue was the same.

We stumbled upon an apparent drug deal in open view of the block of flats at the end of Welcombe Avenue, yet that was the first inkling of any illegal activity all night.

Have we got Park North all wrong? Is it a trouble-free zone on the whole?

Residents have told us that gangs of up to 30 youths have smashed up fences, damaged cars, played loud music late at night, sprayed graffiti and assaulted members of the public on week nights and weekends.

The fact we did not see any anti-social behaviour does not mean it doesn't go on. All the evidence we need is marked on Mr Holmes' face.