Residents of a rural town have said they are scared to go into the high street in the afternoons as gangs of drunken thugs threaten the peace and quiet.
Residents and businesses in Pontypridd have said they are fed up with boozed up yobs causing chaos in their town.
Locals are sick and tired, warning of "youths hanging around” causing intimidating behaviour. There is often screaming and shouting which can spill into violence.
In the last three months, there have been around 40 arrests for antisocial behaviour (ASB) in Pontypridd.
In recent years the police have used dispersal orders in the town, meaning officers can issue a person with a written order directing them to leave the area. And issues seem to be on the rise again.
Teresa Conner owns the Welsh Cake Shop in the market. The 44-year-old said adults are intoxicated on the streets at all hours of the day, Wales Online reports..
“Sometimes when I come into work in the morning, they're walking around with cans of beer and lager. It does have an effect and it's not very nice for people walking into work to be confronted with three middle-aged folks flying drunk at eight o'clock in the morning," she said.
"It is very off-putting and for visitors to the area, that's not a very good thing either."
Market stall owner Vivienne Warwick said “individuals walking around with cans” often come in during the quiet periods of the day.
“They come into the market and they've got cans and carrier bags and they're really loud - not really nice to have in the market, because the market has a lot of older people and they don't really want that.
“In the summer, they sit in the street drinking and it's not nice for any of the businesses.”
Gerald Parry, 77, comes to Pontypridd almost daily with his wife Susan Parry, 74, from the Rhondda. He said that they often come early in the morning, as it starts to “liven up” around midday.
He added: “It’s not violent behaviour - they don’t bother others from what I see of it.”
Bashir Dharma, a shop owner for the last eight years, said that a lot of groups cause trouble outside of his shop and he often hears them “swearing, screaming and shouting at each other”.
He described groups "hanging around the park, town and bridge”.
He said: “There’s not much for them to do in the town which is leading to these activities going on in the evening, like crime and fighting. If they were busy doing something else there would be less crime."
Sueli De Craig, from Pontypridd, added that incidents of anti-social behaviour make her feel vulnerable. She said: “I know a few people like myself who live on their own, and I have to go out to the doctors, dentist, shopping [by myself] and sometimes I see gangs of youths and I won’t look at them - I avoid eye contact."
Alex Davies-Jones MP for Pontypridd has been passionately speaking about tackling ASB as a nation, in the House of Commons. She said: "My biggest frustration is that this isn't an issue isolated to Pontypridd, we've got problems with antisocial behaviour everywhere.
"Pontypridd has so much going for it, we've had a bit of a resurgence in our town. We are bucking the trend, the national trend in terms of town centres where we've got some really good investments and really up-and-coming, thriving independent businesses, retail outlets, food, hospitality, park regeneration and also the exciting plans in terms of the redevelopment of the Bingo Hall site - all of this has incredible benefits to the town.
"It's not something that happens day in, day out, but sadly, as with every town or any area, any community, we do have issues of youth disturbance and there are issues of substance misuse like there are everywhere, but it's not an isolated issue to Pontypridd."
She added that funding had been secured for more youth club provision which it was hoped would ease the problem.
Local Neighbourhood Inspector Leigh Parfitt said: “Through enhanced focus and increased visibility within the town centre we have produced some fantastic results, with over 40 arrests have been made and over 50 engagement activities held within the last three months, providing daily visibility and accessibility to those that work, live and visit Pontypridd.
“We ask that the community work with us to tackle ASB, and if you see or experience any antisocial behaviour then please report it to us.”
