TEEN thugs are risking their lives on a busy dual carriageway to torment a Southampton family living below a flyover.

They dodge the traffic to stand and throw bricks and stones into the garden of the Test Lane home. Most recently they threw a bike into the paddling pool Kevin Baker bought for his youngsters to play in.

It is so bad that Southampton City Council has told Kevin the garden should become a no-go zone.

Kevin said: "They have offered to build a porch above the front door so we won't get hit by stones and bricks as we enter and leave the house.

"They are going to fence off the back garden and give us a gate with a lock on it so we can hang out our washing.

But they've told me if I let the children play there, it's at my own risk."

Kevin and his partner Nicola, 31, moved into the temporary home nearly a year ago with her three children Danielle,12, Dominique, 10, and Robert, 6.

Since then the teen thugs have:

l Hit Danielle on the head with a flashing traffic beacon

l Thrown lumps of concrete and a car battery into the garden

l Smashed two windows in the house

l Hit Nicola with a stone

l Smashed Kevin's windscreen

l Destroyed the children's £80 paddling pool

When they moved in they were told they must stay there for two years before a more suitable home can be found. Now they have been told they must stay for at least another 18 months.

Kevin said "My sons Kasey, 9, and Kieran, 6, come every weekend, so we have a total of five children here and they like to play outside.

"But now I just can't let them because it's not safe."

A spokeswoman for Southamp-ton City Council said they were taking the matter seriously and working with the family to resolve the situation.

"We are working with the police and the county council, which is responsible for the bridge, to look at ways to prevent large objects being thrown onto the property."