City plagued by people 'drunk all day long' and fights

New measures are being rolled out in a city centre plagued by people "drunk all day long", street fighting and shoplifting.

Gloucestershire Police has stepped up action to tackle anti-social behaviour in Gloucester, including increasing street patrols and confiscating alcohol.

Insp James O'Neill said the area has had "persistent problems with anti-social behaviour" and that there is a clear need to deal with the problem.

Resident Lisa Hampter described seeing people "drunk all day long, fighting on the streets and stealing", adding: "You've only got to look out your window and there's some kind of anti-social behaviour going on."

Aimee Court, who lives in Gloucester Docks, said she sees "a lot of drinking in the streets, swearing, spitting and terrible behaviour" and that it happens every day.

Court added that she does not feel safe at night.

"Where I live, we've got a gate, and they come inside our gated community and they'll be drinking or smoking in the corridors, and that doesn't make me feel safe at all," she said.

Resident Caroline Gore said she also felt unsafe in the centre.

"Each time I wait for the coach, there's this massive group of people shouting, bawling, screaming… drugs, alcohol, litter," she added.

"It's unsightly and intimidating."

O'Neill said police have been running a number of operations in the city centre throughout August. This includes issuing dispersal orders which sees offenders banned from certain areas for 48 hours.

The force is also working with Gloucester City Council to develop long-term solutions to tackle the issues.

"I want us to get to a place where people feel safe to come in and out of Gloucester, particularly at night-time," O'Neill said.

"It definitely has its issues, but most large cities around the country will have very similar, and we're doing what we can to tackle that."

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