Pub-watch scheme
Bar boss in safety plea
A bar boss is leading calls to boost safety on Ayr’s pub scene.
Ashley Nicholson, who owns Crumbs & Cocktails on Smith Street, is hoping venues across the town can club together.
She wants to create a group to maintain a safe social scene for customers and staff.
Her call follows reports and CCTV footage of a man in a hivis vest loitering outside the pub, allegedly claiming he was ‘Crumbs security’.
The Pub Watch scheme aims to tackle and prevent crime and antisocial behaviour within licensed premises by communicating with each other about any issues, incidents and potential problems.
Ashley, who has run Crumbs for eight years, said: “I definitely think a Pub Watch scheme would help.
“It might make people feel a bit more prepared and encourage good behaviour.
“Me and Drouthy Neebors will call one another if we’ve had a particular group in or anything that we think ‘no that behaviour wasn’t acceptable’.
“Taxi drivers also put themselves in a vulnerable position so it doesn’t necessarily have to be just for the pub trade as there’s a few different bodies who can be involved.
“Everyone is looking for business just now but I think, especially because we have got a few people coming from other areas, it would be quite good to have a wee heads up.
Ashley posted a clip of the man claiming to be security on social media to flag he is not affiliated with them and to let others know the pub is a safe place should anyone need assistance.
She said: “I was definitely concerned.
“Because he was saying he was Crumbs’ security, we decided to put it on social media for anyone going home at night, in case they did come across this man and [for them to] know that he was not security for the pub.
Now, the bar boss is hoping pubs, restaurants and other bodies can create a WhatsApp or Facebook group for owners or staff to drop messages into.
She added: “It’d be great if there was a place where each owner or regular staff could put in a message saying ‘this person has done this or that.’ That’s something I struggled with when I first opened because when you open a new premises you don’t get a book of people who are known to cause issues. You have to go through this whole process of having people in, barring people and it sometimes it goes on a long time.”