THE government’s 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants has brought relief for Melksham town centre residents from late-night disorder.
Prior to the introduction of the curfew, which has been introduced to help control the spread of Covid-19, residents in the area of the town’s High Street had complained of a rise in drunk and disorderly behaviour since lockdown restrictions were lifted.
And local police had also made prevention of disorder in the town centre a priority after statistics for the last six months revealed that incidents in the town centre accounted for 20% of the demand on police in Melksham.
“The town was like a ghost town after 10pm,” said one High Street resident about the first weekend after the new curfew was introduced. “It was a relief to have a night free of screaming, fighting, and general chaos!”
However, on the weekend of Saturday 19th September and Sunday 20th September – before the curfew was introduced – it was “business as usual” in the town centre.
“This felt like the worst weekend so far,” said the High Street residents. “There was so much screaming and shouting and what sounded like some serious fights too. We were kept awake until gone 3.30am – it didn’t feel like there was much police presence to control this! It was certainly a case of business as usual – thank God for this new curfew!”
Another town centre resident added, “I was woken at about 2.15am by a lot of shouting obscenities. From my bedroom window I could only see a dozen or so youths all over the road and roundabout. After about 20 minutes, they moved out of sight.”
About the weekend of 19th and 20th September, police told Melksham News, “We received a complaint from a member of the public regarding The Grapes pub in Melksham at 9.30pm on Saturday evening (19/09) regarding a lack of social distancing and loud music.
“Officers attended the premises and gave words of advice to the landlord. The music was turned off and advice to eject some of the customers was given.
“We continue to work closely with the local authority with regards to ensuring the current Covid restrictions are being implemented at all licensed premises in the county.
“Officers were also called to the High Street in Melksham, shortly after 1.00am yesterday (20th September) to assist paramedics following a report of a medical incident.”
