Town is target of criminals
13 April 2012
Despite its image of prosperity, with Thames-side homes worth upwards of £500,000, Reading has become a target for criminal gangs.
The Berkshire town straddles the M4 between two major crime centres, London and Bristol, from which gangs are being displaced by police initiatives.
"We're right in the middle," said a Thames Valley police spokesman. In 2002 two men were shot at the Matrix nightclub, and 83 suspected Jamaican Yardie gangsters were deported from the town in 2003.
Shootings are increasing. An Asian man was targeted in January in a drive-by attack in the town centre.
Police say most such incidents are drug-related and killings like that of Mary-Ann Leneghan "extremely rare".
