Stabbing in park puts man, 19, in hospital

A PARK in Exeter was at the centre of safety fears yesterday after a 19-year-old man suffered stab wounds in an early evening attack.

Police were called to Bury Meadow Park on Tuesday in Exeter by the ambulance servicet, who were treating the victim for his wounds. He was taken to hospital.

Police are appealing for anyone with information about what happened to come forward.

Bury Meadow Park has previously been at the centre of a police crackdown. In March, officers from Devon and Cornwall Police stepped up patrols after ‘numerous complaints’ about antisocial behaviour.

Regular users of the park were shocked to hear of the latest reported incident, saying that they generally feel safe there. Some, however, called for better street lighting.

One dog walker said: “You don’t have to have cameras but some street lighting through the middle would help – then people would witness stuff because it’s not a big park.”

Councillor Diana Moore, who represents the St David’s ward of Exeter, has highlighted a need for “focused, ongoing attention and

investment” into the city’s open spaces to ensure they can be enjoyed safely by all. She has called on Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez, in particular, to put more funding into addressing “city centre issues”.

Cllr Moore said: “I think it needs a wider response to looking after our parks and open spaces than just lighting. We need some focused, ongoing attention and investment to make sure parks in the city centre can be enjoyed by everybody.

“We did a survey around Bartholomew Cemetery and the things that make people feel safe is a mixture of it visibly being maintained, people being able to use it, some lighting will help, for the parks to be able to be observed and seen and for them to be well-used by the community.

“People also do want to see police officers in these spaces and that’s really important. We need to have more resources in the city centre to help focus on this.

“The thing is that there isn’t one solution for this. It’s ongoing engagement and investment, different agencies working together, the police working with the Council and community mostly.

“Particularly in Bury Meadow, there’s been ongoing problems, particularly late night and some very strange things happen. It’s not just Bury Meadow, it’s all the city centre parks like Northernhay Gardens, St Bartholomew’s Cemetery.

“The Police and Crime Commissioner really needs to get her act together, which is proper funding in Exeter for us to address these city centre issues.

“The police are doing their best.”