‘Intoxicated’ men kept on drinking after sea rescue
FOUR “intoxicated” men who were pulled from the sea by the RNLI continued drinking alcohol through funnels before police sent them home.
The group of men, from Pontypool, were ordered to leave Ogmore-by-Sea on Saturday, April 24 due to their anti-social behaviour, as officers seized their alcohol and issued a section 35 notice and sent them home in taxis. The group will receive an antisocial behaviour stage one warning letter.
The men, three aged 19 and one aged 20, had been helped out of the sea by RNLI crews before continuing to drink alcohol, some of them “through funnels”, on the grass near the Rivermouth car park.
It comes as South Wales Police increased patrols in coastal areas of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan at the weekend to tackle anti-social behaviour as crowds flocked to beauty spots to enjoy the warm weather.
Officers arrested a 19-year-old man on Penarth Esplanade for possessing an offensive weapon at around 8pm on Saturday.
The teenager, from Rumney, claimed the knife was for fishing purposes but had no other fishing equipment with him.
He was taken into custody for interview and received a caution.
While in Cardiff Bay, a 22-year-old man was arrested and charged with being drunk and disorderly following reports of a fight on the steps in front of the Senedd at around 6.30pm on Saturday. He is due to appear at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court on May 14.
South Wales Police chief inspector Bella Rees said: “The vast majority of people who visit our beautiful coastal areas behave appropriately and in accordance with the regulations. But we will not tolerate the behaviour of a minority who consume excess alcohol, litter and ruin the quiet enjoyment for law-abiding citizens.
“Anti-social behaviour and criminality has a detrimental impact on our communities and we will continue to patrol key areas to prevent such activity.”
Section 35 notices, which give officers the powers to exclude people from an area, were in place in Ogmore-by-Sea, Barry Island and the Oval Basin in Cardiff Bay at the weekend. It was the first time Ogmore-by-Sea has been subject to such an order, which was in response to the recent antisocial behaviour in the area.
This comes after three people were arrested and five section 35 notices were issued in Swansea as police tackled anti-social behaviour at the weekend.
Two of the arrests were made on suspicion of the possession of drugs with the intent to supply, with a third arrest on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.