AN irate businessman who has taken to installing razor wire in his shop overnight to deter burglars gave a Government minister a grilling during a walkabout in central Middlesbrough.

Parvez Akhtar confronted Policing Minister Kit Malthouse over repeated break-ins at his mobile phone repair store in Parliament Road, Fix A Fone, and claimed police had failed to respond.

Mr Malthouse had been accompanying Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner, who has been attempting to push the case for Cleveland to receive more funding to deal with a spiralling serious violence problem.

Mr Akhtar, who was wearing a facemask, said he had been broken into five times in the last three years and he “did not know what to do”.

He said: “I have complained to the police, everything, and nobody has come even for a fingerprint.

“My insurance won’t cover me, I have lost so much money every year.”

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Cleveland Police later appeared to dispute Mr Akhtar’s account and said it had attended five burglary-related calls, the latest being in May 8 this year.

These included an incident in which shutters were forced and another which led to three arrests, but no subsequent charges.

Another incident reported as a burglary, was in fact a “disagreement” over a phone, the force said.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Addressing Mr Akhtar, Mr Malthouse said: “I heard what you said.

“We have invested quite a lot of money in this area – £450,000 (from the Safer Streets fund) – in CCTV, lighting and new alleygating.

“We have two brand new police officers here – there are going to be a lot more of them – and the reason I have come here today with Steve is to try and understand the problem with crime so we can try and do something about it.

“Hopefully over the months to come you will see a big difference.”

Mr Turner tried to take the heat out of the situation by stating he would look into Mr Akhtar’s complaint.

He said: “I don’t know why you haven’t had a response, but I am happy to look into it for you.”

Mr Akhtar claimed “nearly every single shop” in the vicinity, including a pizza shop and bakery, had been targeted in attacks by criminals.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Turner said he had deliberately chosen the Newport ward for Mr Malthouse’s walkabout, during which he was joined by neighbourhood officers and new recruits.

He said: “If we are going to get a couple of hours of a senior minister’s time I am not going to walk him around leafy Yarm and talk about how wonderful the area is.

“If we are talking about the challenges facing Cleveland then I am going to take him to Parliament Road and other parts of Newport that are causing us problems.

“He [Mr Akhtar] was able to come out and have that conversation and opportunity to talk to me and the minister and we could answer his questions.

“One of my team is going to contact him to look at the detail behind the incidents he highlighted and the response the gentleman got.

“I have been a victim of burglary myself in the past and the response I got at the time from the police was really good.

“But I do hear people saying they report such things and the police don’t come out.

“Sometimes it can be about the information given to the police at the time and what people’s expectations are.

“I don’t think in Cleveland we communicate particularly well in terms of what we can do and what to expect from the service when those responses come in.”

Last week, following a recent visit to Teesside by Home Secretary Priti Patel, the Home Office defended the financial support being given to the Cleveland force.

It said it would receive £149.2m in 2021/22, a year-on-year increase of £5.8m, along with £1m from the Safer Streets Fund.The force area currently has the second highest rate of violent offences in the country and the fourth highest rate for knife crime.  Chief Constable Richard Lewis has said it is “inexplicable” it is missing out on potentially millions of pounds of extra cash afforded to some police forces under a current funding formula.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Conservative Mr Turner, who was only elected last month, said he had been shocked at the true scale of violent crime on the streets of Cleveland.

He said: “Tackling violent crime is at the top of my agenda and it’s only right that the area receives funding for a unit to tackle the issue head-on.

“You have to look at the whole holistic approach, it isn’t just about the headline stuff and the organised crime gangs, you have to look at what you do to stop people getting into that lifestyle from an early age.

“Both [Mr Malthouse] and the Home Secretary are keen to help us find a solution.

“They have given us a couple of different avenues to work up a plan to see if we can get a cash injection to get our violence unit up and running.

“True to their words they came up when we invited them to look at the problems Cleveland faces first hand.

“We will be putting a funding bid together that will look at what we believe we need over the coming weeks, months and years.

“We have taken some massive steps which will hopefully benefit Cleveland in the long run.”