FOR many people Autumn is a time to put the heating on and stay warm indoors as the long trudge towards winter gathers pace.

But it can spell disaster for the emergency services as the early dark nights provide cover to the troublemakers who use it to mask their petty crimes and dangerous games.

The clocks have not even been turned back and councillors and MPs have already called for calm as they urge young people to abandon their wild streak and stop putting innocent people at risk.

Youths have been spotted throwing fireworks at cars in Thornton Road and firefighters tell of almost daily police escorts to fires started in parks.

For 16-year-olds Callum Papworth and Caitlin Ryan, from Buttershaw, it is a situation they often found themselves in as part of a gang of 30 who terrorised estates in Buttershaw.

Acting out of boredom, the teenagers – who said they were only 12-years-old when they started hanging out on the streets – vandalised homes and cars as part of their group.

Now they have turned their lives around and, after leaving school in the summer, they now work for the Sandale Trust, a community group which gave them a way out from the life of crime awaiting them.

The Telegraph & Argus spoke to them alongside 24-year-old Shannon Worsley, the Sandale Trust’s Youth Co-Ordinator who followed a similar path to the two teenagers.

Watching them briefly in the Trust’s Reevy Road West offices, they come across as more mature and wiser than their age suggests; they serve tea and coffee to pensioners preparing to play bingo and share a joke with them.

It is a far cry from their previous life spent damaging property and enticing the police to chase them.

“I was a little delinquent,” Callum admits.

“It was about getting involved in throwing bricks at windows.

“It could be someone’s pride and joy we damaged or we could scare someone.”

Caitlin was out of control too, but it was not as a result of bad parenting or out of disrespect for her mum.

It all came down to peer pressure and an unwillingness to do something different from her friendship group.

“My parents were hard on discipline, but that wouldn’t stop me,” said Caitlin.

“My mum wouldn’t let me get away with what I was doing and I would be grounded, but I would still go out.

“If you didn’t do it then you would stand out from the crowd.”

For Shannon, it was the lure of an older crown which saw her become involved with troublemakers.

She would not flinch when PCSOs would confront her about throwing stones at cars on Halifax Road.

"We would wind people up or egg houses to see if people would chase us," she adds.

"We were always trying to get a reaction from people."

Worryingly, however, Shannon claims the crimes being committed have become gradually worse.

She added: "It's worse now than when I was younger.

"We didn't target vulnerable people or someone who couldn't afford to repair the damage.

"Groups will now hang around next to where vulnerable people live or target them."

It was only until their eyes were opened by the Sandale Trust and the opportunities they provided, that they all stopped hanging around on the streets.

It offered them somewhere to go on an evening where they could meet friends, play video games, and eventually, the promise of a job.

“If it wasn’t for this place we would be out there because we wouldn’t know any different,” Caitlin points out.

They all know how different their lives could have been after hearing horror stories about the people they used to hang around with now making progress in their criminal careers.

“Some have moved into burglaries and stealing cars, and intimidating people to the point where they don’t want to come out of their homes," Caitlin added.

"Most of our friends have grown out of it and they are at College. It's the minority which still do it."

Caitlin is joining the Army later this year and hopes to eventually become a Medic, but spends her time doing admin work and odd jobs for the Trust.

It is similar story for Callum, too, who now works as a Youth Support Worker and plans to join the police.

He added: “I’m definitely ashamed of what I’ve done.

“I went to a party one night and one of the PCs picked me up and threw me down the street.

“It was just to move me, but it opened my eyes.

“We found out about this place and started coming in."