Bristol's notorious Crow Lane in Henbury, its violence and the ongoing trouble between gangs of youths has been likened by residents to the novel Lord of the Flies.

The comparison has been made by people fed up of watching the area's problem spiral out of control, with youths effectively being allowed to turn the area into a no-go zone.

Some residents are angry that the longest police have been seen in the area was when officers spent six hours pulling over passing vehicles to check tax discs and insurance.

This comes after two friends, Shane Braga and Marcio Toso, were beaten and robbed in Crow Lane by a gang of thugs – for speaking Portuguese.

Maureen Jefferson, 74, who has lived in the area for the past 48 years, says she has rung the police almost every day for the past month.

She has been kept awake every night for four weeks by rowdy yobs causing trouble, fighting and being allowed to do it by police who appear unable to bring it under control.

She said: "This area has been bad for while, but never like this. To call it Lord of the Flies wouldn't be exaggerating.

"On Wednesday the police spent six hours pulling over cars in Crow Lane checking tax and insurance, and yet when you ring them to get something done about the real problems we've got, they hardly ever show up."

The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding and first published in 1954, explores how society and the rules that govern it fail among a group of British schoolboys marooned on a deserted island.

Mrs Jefferson said: "Is it right that we should be spat at as we walk out of a shop? Is it right that kids should be allowed to attack each other and everyone else around them? Is it right that I should be woken at 4am by shouting and fighting in the street?

"There's been stabbings, muggings, assaults and still the police do nothing. Clearly their parents have got no control. What has got to happen before the police take a stand against these thugs? I've even said I'll form a vigilante group – I'll feel that strongly."

Mrs Jefferson, who refused to be photographed for fear of being attacked, is now considering moving back to her home town of Torquay, in Devon, to get away from the trouble.

Another resident, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said: "We live with it daily. Lord of the Flies is a perfect description. The police do nothing, while our lives are being made a misery.

"It is now at a point where everyone living here has had enough. It's time we took a stand. No one would blame someone if they took the law into their own hands to deal with thugs."

As reported in the Bristol Post earlier this week, Mr Braga , 28, and Mr Toso , 30, had a laptop and keys for two cars stolen when they were attacked in the early hours of Sunday.

Mr Braga, of Henbury, was left with chipped teeth, a black eye and a swollen and badly bruised head. Mr Toto, of Southmead, needed 10 stitches in his forehead and was left with a broken nose. No one has yet been arrested in connection with the incident.

Police said they had been dealing with an increased level of anti-social behaviour for the past few weeks.

Inspector Mark Jackson said: "We take all incidents extremely seriously and are committed to working with local people to make our community safer. Unfortunately we have seen an increase in anti-social behaviour in recent weeks.

"Youth services are now working to develop programmes to divert them and make more constructive and positive use of their time. Police teams are also progressing with anti-social behaviour orders for a number of key individuals and hopefully this will have an impact."