Teenage lives in Yorkshire are being blighted by fear of crime

The Children’s Society’s 2017 Good Childhood Report, released today, said one in three teenage girls were fearful of being followed by a stranger, while one in four boys were worried they would be assaulted.

Fear of crime was one of the serious problems the report said was “significantly harming” the happiness of thousands of children aged between 10 and 17, with two in five worried about falling victim to two or more crimes.

One teenage girl interviewed by the charity said: “They’re blowing kisses, men beeping, standing asking your age, whistling, shouting, stopping vans next to you, asking for your number.”

A 13-year-old boy said: “You’ve got to fight to like kind of survive around this area. You have to stick up for yourself the whole time.”

The report also said 175,000 teenagers in the region were concerned that their parents were struggling to pay the bills, and more than half (53 per cent), had experienced “at least three hardships in the last five years”.

Rob Jackson from The Children’s Society, said the results were alarming, and could affect teenagers in later life.

He said: “Teenagers are coming under pressure in all areas of their lives, whether it’s being afraid to walk down their street, worrying about money, or having a parent who’s seriously unwell and this is damaging their well-being.

“Sadly we know many of these teenagers will only get help if they reach crisis point – such as running away from home, or abusing alcohol or drugs. With a £2 billion funding gap for children’s services looming, children are increasingly finding themselves with nowhere to turn, putting them at greater risk.”

The Children’s Society has called for the government to urgently address the funding shortfall in children’s services – predicted to reach £2bn by 2020 – and for local government, police forces, schools and other local agencies to work together to improve the wellbeing of children in their area.