Arrests after violence on train
ARRESTS have been made after around 100 drunken youths abused police before a fight broke out onboard a train in a Welsh town – which resulted in two officers being assaulted.
The large gathering occurred at Burry Port train station in Carmarthenshire at the beginning of the recent Bank Holiday weekend. After receiving reports of anti-social behaviour on the evening of Friday, May 28, British Transport Police and PCSOs from Dyfed-Powys Police made their way to the station.
The youngsters, most of whom were intoxicated according to police, became “abusive and disorderly” before dispersing into smaller groups.
A number of them then boarded a train at the station which was heading to Llanelli. On the train a fight broke out in one of the carriageways, which contained around 30-40 of the youths, and an attempt to break up the trouble was met with aggression, leading to two officers being assaulted.
A number of people were arrested on suspicion of assault, but the fighting spilled out on to the platform after the train arrived in Llanelli, where more youths were arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly and public order offences.
According to Dyfed-Powys Police, aggression towards officers continued and many of the offenders refused to leave the station, despite being ordered to. This led to them being forcibly removed from the platform and on to the street.
Those arrested were then taken home to their parents to be dealt with at a later date by British Transport Police.
“It took a considerable amount of time and resources to disperse the youths and to bring this incident to a safe conclusion, at a time when demand for our resources is high anyway,” revealed Inspector Dawn Fencott-Price of Dyfed-Powys Police.
“This level of disorder is inexcusable, and understandably causes the community and residents concern and distress.
“We would appeal directly to parents to be aware of where their children are, and what they are doing. Anti-social behaviour and disorder of this kind will not be tolerated, and we urge parents to be accountable for their children’s actions.
“We have received calls from residents in Burry Port who are concerned about the behaviour of large groups of young people in the town for some time, and would encourage them to continue to tell us about such behaviour. Proactive action has been taken to address this. We have and continue to put additional resources in place to allow officers to respond swiftly.”
British Transport Police (BTP) has said its officers will be conducting patrols at different spots in the area over this weekend, and warned that CCTV is constantly being viewed.
BTP Constable Rhys Lewis said: “Our officers, and network of CCTV cameras, are monitoring the railway 24/7. Our top priority is to keep passengers and rail staff safe and antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated.
“We’ll have officers on high-visibility patrols at these locations over the weekend and are working closely with our partners at Dyfed Powys Police and Transport for Wales to ensure those travelling can do so safely. Anyone who experiences any issues while travelling can text us on 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40.”
A Section 34 Order is in place in the Llanelli and Burry Port areas this weekend – between Friday and Sunday – which gives officers the power to remove people from the area and ban them from returning for 48 hours.