Wild eshays terrorising towns in Melbourne’s west

Bum bag wearing eshays are wreaking havoc in Melbourne’s west, threatening dog walkers, bashing kids and robbing teens at knifepoint.

Bum bag wearing eshays are wreaking havoc in Melbourne’s west, threatening dog walkers, bashing kids and robbing teenagers at knifepoint.

Frustrated residents in Melton, Bacchus Marsh and Brookfield said that eshay culture was rife with the rowdy youths terrorising locals near schools, train stations, shopping centres and parks.

Jessica Jade told the Herald Sun her 11-year-old son was bashed by a 17-year-old eshay at his old high school in Bacchus Marsh.

She said her son was thrown to the ground, cornered between lockers, punched in the back of the head and kicked in the ribs in March this year.

“My son had a mild concussion, multiple lumps on the back of his head and bruising under his arms, chest and stomach,” Ms Jade said.

“He was unable to sleep for two days as the pain from the lumps on his head was too much for him to lay on.”

The mother-of-nine also said her 16-year-old son was targeted and robbed at knifepoint by an eshay at a park last year.

“He has since opted to work full time and not go to school,” she said.

“He loves learning but with the bullying and eshays, he couldn’t take it anymore.”

The most distinctive feature of an eshay is their look. Picture: A Current Affair

Eshays are part of a subculture that’s gripped Australian youth in recent years.

They are usually associated with drugs and violence and spotted in trainers, polo shirts and trackies.

Ms Jade said there were areas in the western suburbs where locals couldn’t walk at night due to being confronted by the thugs.

“It terrifies me as a parent that it’s coming to this,” she said.

“Nothing has terrorised our towns like the eshays.”

Ms Jade said teens with “absent or disengaged parents” were attracted to the eshay lifestyle.

“They have an appeal of ‘coolness’ for disadvantaged children finding themselves,” she said.

“If there isn’t that feeling of connection from home or from a positive group then it’s the eshays that offer it.

“With the drug, alcohol and domestic violence epidemic ripping through the west our once quiet country towns are getting scary.”

Fear has continued to spread on social media with some locals too scared to leave their homes.

A Brookfield man said he was approached by two youths when walking his dog less than 300m from his house.

“They said something weird and I turned around thinking that was a strange thing to say,” he said.

“I was then called a f---ot and racially abused, then threatened with a “we’ll stab you c---.”

The man said he was too afraid to leave his home and debated about moving from the area.

Despite locals claiming eshay culture was on the rise, the number of youth offenders decreased by eight per cent year-on-year, according to the Crime Statistics Agency.

Victoria Police said they had been “disrupting and dismantling” street gangs by engaging with offenders and running regular patrols in known areas.