[from the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, Monday 29th September]
A Marsden resident has called for the re-introduction of mounted police to tackle an increase in anti-social behaviour on the real ale trail she said has become “too awful to bear.”
Community campaigner Wendy Crowther also wants to see the closure of a beer garden and a lager ban on Saturdays to stop swearing, bottle-throwing and public urination that has got so ‘ridiculous’ in her neighbourhood this summer that her grandchildren can no longer stay at the house on the weekend.
It comes after officers arrested a woman on Saturday as part of their Ale Trail work.
Kirklees Rural police said:
“A female was arrested on the train station by a Rural Officer this evening after she was seen having a wee on the platform by several members of the public.
“The female was being spoken to by the Officer about her behaviour when she became abusive and violent. She was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and will be receiving a fine.”
Wendy, who lives near to the Railway Pub, was one of the co-founders of the Off The Rails action group and neighbourhood watch in a bid to reduce the problem behaviour that became prevalent in the village three years ago.
She said:
“It’s got to the stage on Saturdays where the noise, bad language and behaviour has just become awful. There is so much effing and blinding that I can’t let my grand kids stay at the house on Saturdays any longer.
“We also get people publicly weeing nearby and my neighbours have bottles thrown into their gardens quite regularly.”
She wants to see police horses make a comeback on the streets at peak times of the trail which were used by the West Yorkshire force in a co-ordinated crackdown last year and for The Railway’s owners, Marstons PLC, to keep the beer garden closed on Saturdays and to install a high fence around the area to prevent dangerous objects being thrown.
Wendy, 55, said:
“The police horses had a real calming effect on the village last year and we were told by the force at a meeting in May that they would look into bringing them back this year but so far we’ve seen nothing, even though the problems have got worse over the summer.
“It doesn’t make any difference if we tell people on the trail to be more respectful ourselves.
“I hope the horses come back this year ahead of the Christmas party season and would like to see the fence put up and a ban on lager to be put in place again at village pubs.
“We don’t want to stop the trail but we want people on it to not behave in a manner that’s disruptive or offensive to residents.”
Her views were shared by Liberal Democrat councillor Nicola Turner and Conservative councillor Donna Bellamy. Clr Turner said:
“We are going to continue to work together as residents, pub landlords, councillors and police to try stop all anti-social behaviour so that people can enjoy what is a great day out appreciating local ales.”
A spokesman for the Railway Pub said that there were currently no plans to install a fence or reconsider the beer garden’s opening times.