Aggresive drunks and anti-social behaviour blight city

PEOPLE lying drunk in the street, stripping naked and urinating in phone boxes – this is the harrowing greeting visitors to Durham city centre are given.

As videos circulate on social media of people lying drunk in the streets, angry residents have said they feel unsafe on North Road and the Market Place.

A petition has been launched calling for action to be taken to address the issues, while police officers arrested a man for possessing an offensive weapon and another for handling stolen goods.

Now, the City of Durham Parish Council has vowed to come up with a plan to address the issues by hosting an anti-social behaviour conference that will bring together key groups in the city.

Councillor Elizabeth Scott, who is chairwoman of the parish council, said: “We’ve been seeing an increasing amount of anti-social behaviour in the city over recent months and years.

“It is a problem; we as a parish council feel it needs to be addressed in a multi agency way.

“There is a lot of alcohol-related behaviour and drug-related behaviour that has really reached a level of unacceptability now including aggressive behaviour in the street, urinating in the street; my children themselves have witnessed a man undressing in Durham Market Place in the middle of the afternoon.

“So, all of these factors combined have a very negative impact on families visiting, businesses within the city who are seeing declining trade because of it and also wider impact on tourism and businesses that are reliant on tourism.

“It is a small group of people who are perpetuating this behaviour in the city.”

Over the past week, officers have arrested a man for possession of an offensive weapon on North Road.

A second male was arrested for handling stolen goods and a public order offence in the Market Place.

As part of a crackdown, cans and bottles of alcohol have been seized from those ignoring the drinking ban on the streets.

Statistics from Police UK reveal there were 610 incidents of anti-social behaviour in the city between August 2018 and July this year, with 270 incidents of public order and 248 shoplifting.

A Durham Constabulary spokesperson said it takes all crime seriously and understands the effect it has on the community.

On October 31, the police, council, charitable groups and business owners will come together to work on a strategy to tackle the issues.

Coun Scott said: “It is not a problem that can be solved by one organisation, so we as a parish council want to bring those people together in a room and say ‘Right, what can we do on a practicable level to reduce this problem and make Durham city and more desirable place to visit?.’”

Adam Shanley, secretary of the parish council, said residents and business owners contact them about anti-social behaviour and want to develop a long term strategy to target it.

He said: “We are hoping to develop a strategy that involves all the organisa

There is a lot of alcohol-related behaviour and drug-related behaviour

Coun Elizabeth Scott