'Dangerous' street party kept community awake

Residents have said they were left shocked and unable to sleep because of loud music, drug use and screams from a large street party.

Footage from Saturday evening showed hundreds gathered near a park in Leicester, reportedly inhaling nitrous oxide from balloons, according to residents.

The street party was followed by litter the day after, with canisters of the gas being spotted near Bede Park.

On Monday, Leicestershire Police confirmed officers had been called to the scene and a 19-year-old was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

The officer involved was not injured and the suspect was given a community order, the force added.

Police are investigating reports of weapons being seen and have appealed for witnesses.

'No respect'

This was not a normal sight for a Saturday night, said Jessica Ray, who said she could not go to sleep due to the noise.

"It was awful," the 43-year-old added. "When you hear them running around... my youngest lives here and is 11, and he's worried and scared.

"At midnight he should be fast asleep in bed and yet he can't because it's too noisy, there's loud music and hundreds of people making too much noise."

She described the crowd as mostly young adults, aged 18 to 20.

"I was watching them do balloons with nitrous oxide in them. [I was watching them] drinking.

"I got my youngest to sleep at 2am but there was still noise. I don't think it disappeared until 3am.

"There's no consideration for the residents here. The street has got lots of young children, and you've got the elderly as well. No respect at all," Ms Ray added.

She was not the only one in the household who was deprived of sleep that night.

Kosarad Majeed-Ray, 20, filmed the party and its aftermath.

It was the mess left on his doorstep that annoyed Kosarad Majeed-Ray the most

He said he saw people "playing music very loud, smoking weed and doing balloons".

Mr Majeed-Ray pointed at the walkway on his doorstep and said: "All of this was covered. All the walkway and the park were covered with people.

"Every so often there were people screaming and running. When there's people right in front of my door, I'm scared. Because I don't know what they're going to do.

"It's scary seeing so many people, but it's mainly being fed-up with people coming here, trashing the place, not being respectful, and leaving a tip.

"On Sunday morning, it was a mess. Balloons on the floor, there were jeans on the floor down the street. And obviously all the canisters of nitrous oxide."

The possession of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, is a criminal offence in England and Wales.

Its use soared during the pandemic, becoming one of the most-abused substances, especially by 16 to 24-year-olds.

Nitrous oxide is a colourless gas that is inhaled and is commonly used as a painkiller in medicine and dentistry, however it is bought by recreational users in small metal canisters, released into a balloon and then inhaled.

Police have been patrolling the area and reassuring residents after the gathering in Bede Park in Leicester

Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he saw many young people coming down late at night, blocking the road.

"It was so dangerous because if someone got hurt, ambulances could not come," he said.

He said he had never seen anything like it in 30 years of living in the area.

"They just kept coming and coming," he added. "They were using nitrous oxide because they were using balloons and all that.

"It carried on until two o'clock which was very disturbing to residents."

He said he was the second resident to report it to the police.

"A person brought a table with him. He opened the table and put his musical equipment on top of it and started [playing music].

"This is a residential area. This shouldn't be happening," he added.

Sgt Steph Burnham said: "We know the incidents and volume of people in attendance may have caused some concerns within the local community.

"We would like to thank those people who reported the gathering to us, which allowed us to deploy officers swiftly to the area.

"Local officers will be carrying out patrols in the area to reassure local residents and if anyone has any concerns they are advised to get in touch."