Yahoo News 'I'm scared to even look at them' - worry over 'almost lawless' Leicester city centre street
People drinking, taking drugs and sitting apparently unconscious in a Leicester city centre street are causing concern for nearby businesses. Traders in Cank Street told LeicestershireLive they had seen an increase in anti-social behaviour since Paper Tiger closed.
They said a bench in Cank Street, and the closed shop's sheltered entrance, had become a popular spot for people allegedly taking illegal drugs, among other undesireable activities. Sandra Potts, owner of Sandra May Hair Studio, described the scene in the image above as a "common sight" in recent weeks.
She said: "It's not nice at all and it's upsetting for my clients and my staff. Since Paper Tiger closed, and a few other shops in the [nearby] Malcolm Arcade have gone, it's been quiet around here, so they come here, shoot up on the bench and then go into their own world.
"The council and police have been doing things in the past but it seems to have got a lot worse in the past couple of weeks."
Another business owner, Asif Noori, of Quality Stitch, opposite the former Paper Tiger store, agreed the problems were getting worse. He said: "They've been going there since it closed a few months ago and some are taking drugs.
"I don't know what it is they're smoking - I'm scared to even look at them. It tends to be worse later on at about 4pm when things get quieter, but it can be at any time at all. The other day there was a man and a woman and they seemed to be high on drugs and they were running around, shouting, first arguing and then laughing."
The concerns come after LeicestershireLive readers said they did not feel safe coming into the city centre. The comments were made in response to the news that the city's branch of M&S was to close. At the time, one person said "Our city centre has become a place you wouldn’t want to be in! It’s dirty and people feel unsafe!" Another added that they found visiting the city unpalatable because "there's the gauntlet of drunks, druggies groups of men [and] beggers to pass".
"You run the risk of being knocked over by all the food delivery bikers who have a blatant disregard to pedestrians in pedestrian areas, then there is all the homeless beggars and druggies everywhere the smell of weed is awful, no police anywhere," said a third. Comparing the city with Fosse Park, a reader described Leicester as "dirty and you don't feel safe - at least at Fosse Park you feel safe and it's clean, without beggars and drug users."
In relation to the latest concerns, Blake Edwards, who owns a hairdressers in Cank Street, said: "It's all the time now. And it can be any time of day from first thing to later in the evening.
"It's almost lawless. They're usually smoking from some sort of pipe. They do it with pens, sucking smoke up a pen or other tube.
"They will do it anywhere there's shelter - fire exits, the Paper Tiger entrance. They're confident to just do it openly almost anywhere, knowing that there's no repercussions.
"And of course it affects us as a business. It's all about the experience for our clients, and if they're witnessing all these things on their way here it could put them off.
"They should be able to feel at ease coming into the city centre. But they don't feel safe."
He said he had been reporting anti-social behaviour to Leicestershire Police regularly and that officers had visited his business and encouraged him to keep reporting such incidents. But he said he feared there were not enough police officers in Leicester to make much difference.
Mr Edwards added: "There's anti-social behaviour all over the city centre, so it's nothing new. A lot of them have mental health problems and are spending the day drinking, and it's a problem. The other day I passed a drunk man standing in the middle of Market Street with a can of drink in his hand and everyone having to avoid him."
A member of staff at another nearby business, who did not want to be named, said: "You see it more and more and it puts people off coming into Leicester. They need more police out on the beat or there's just no deterrent to stop people getting drunk and taking drugs."
A spokesman for Leicestershire Police told LeicestershireLive: "Officers from the Central Leicester Neighbourhood Policing Area carry out regular proactive patrols of the city centre.
"The team works closely with Leicester City Council’s community safety department to support members of the street lifestyle community and signpost them to other support networks where appropriate."
A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: "Leicester City Council actively engages with businesses in the area and across the city centre and we encourage reporting whenever this behaviour occurs. The council works in partnership with Leicestershire Police and the Business Improvement District (BID) to understand and tackle these issues and we will ensure that we increase our presence in the area and take action where anti-social behaviour is reported to us."
