A Leeds greengrocer has grown sick and tired of street drinkers snatching his fruit and running away with it.
Scowling beneath the glare of the sun as it shone down on his fruit and vegetable stall in Harehills Lane, Ahmed Ali held up two bowls of his most prized products, the apples – which thieves keep running away with. Bananas are also victim to hands of peckish thieves, adds the father-of-three.
The 42-year-old, the eponymous owner of Ahmed Fruit and Veg, spoke of how “sad and broken down” it made him feel when it happens. Often they’ll jeer and swear at him once they’ve pinched the fruit, swaggering away across the lane.
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Ahmed doesn’t want to chase after the thieves or get in a fight for the sake of “20p” but he wants them to reflect on their actions and better themselves.
Harehills Lane has been plagued with street drinkers treating it as a “holiday resort,” say West Yorkshire Police. Drinkers have been known to travel from as far as Morley to drink in the busy neighbourhood due to the high amount of off-licenses available.
Heightened powers have been granted to the police to crack down on street-drinkers and off-licenses in the neighbourhood but the antisocial behaviour is still present, say residents.
Ahmed said: “They’ve stolen fruit, there’s fighting and swearing. They’ve stolen apples and bananas, they’ll take it and run away. We don’t want this situation. Sometimes when we tell them to put it back, they swear at us and use very bad language.
“It makes me feel and sad, it breaks me down sometimes. They need to look after themselves, they need to be like that. They have to change their life, so their life is not only drink.
“I don’t want to fight them for 20p, I don’t want to make a scene. We tell them ‘Don’t do it!’ and they’re swearing. They don’t have any education or something. You have to respect yourself and other people.”
Ahmed said the street drinkers have only ever stolen single pieces of fruit, rather than a whole bunch of bananas or a bundle of apples. Plus, he says the street-drinking situation has much improved since police began to crack down more severely on the anti-social behaviour in the area.
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