Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District

‘Imbeciles’ distorted reality

- By Rhys Griffiths rgriffiths@thekmgroup.co.uk

Pictures of a drink-fuelled fracas in Canterbury’s high street is not how ‘Super Saturday’ should be remembered, says the boss of a leading security firm. Police were called to St Peter’s Street as trouble broke out at about 8.15pm on the day pubs reopened for the first time since March

Images of the angry scenes were posted on a Facebook residents group, but Oli Nonis, who runs Akon Security, says they give an unfair depiction of events across the city. Speaking later that evening, he said: “It will be made out to look and sound like it was nonstop trouble, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

“I was sceptical of how tonight would go but after having been around the city and seeing how well organised everywhere was and how the majority of the public were respecting the new regulation­s put in place.

“So much work and planning has gone in to the reopening of the town’s restaurant and bar trade and that was evident tonight.

“Sadly the incident that occurred and was posted in Canterbury Residents Group is not a true depiction of the night and does not deserve to be the photo that people remember from today.”

Mr Nonis, whose firm looks after security for a number of city venues, says the trouble was isolated to one area and caused by “a small pocket of the same local imbeciles that should be banned from the majority of places within the city already”. He added: “Given the great work from everyone else in the town, police, local authoritie­s and the general public, I can see a light at the end of tunnel for the bars, restaurant­s and clubs that desperatel­y need to be open to keep the town alive and people in jobs.”

Police say they were called to St Peter’s Street following reports of an altercatio­n. There were no arrests or reports of serious injuries. CCTV is being reviewed.

■ For more on the city’s pubs reopening, see our special report on pages 6-7.

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