Teen trouble at Moore's Lane

They said weekend drinking parties there were turning the place into an unsightly disaster area of broken glass, stones and litter which was doing little to encourage potential customers to shop there.

And they placed the blame not just with the vandals, but also with the police and local council for not taking appropriate action to stamp it out and clear up.

Several businesses were at the top of the lane, with factories making up the rest. The worst of the trouble was occurring towards the main street where part of the lane is covered.

One trader said he was paying around 2,000 a year in rates and he felt that he and fellow traders were getting a raw deal from the council

Very often he and other shopowners arrived at their businesses on Saturday mornings to find the ground strewn with broken bottles and discarded chip wrappers.

The trader said: “When they’re finished they wreck and tear, turning over bins, bursting the bottles, throwing stones and leaving their litter everywhere and when we come in the next morning we often have to clean up the mess ourselves.

“Council sweepers don’t always do it and even when they do it’s not always good enough. We have to go out and do it ourselves simply to take the bad look off the place and make it more attractive for shoppers.”

Traders in Moore’s Lane felt that the attitude of the police towards the weekend drinking exploits was far too lenient as it seemed nothing was being done to discourage them.

They felt that if police were to make arrests, with the subsequent threat of heavy fines, it would make Moore’s Lane less attractive as the secluded drinking den it was. They wanted Moore’s Lane turned into a no-go area for teenage drinkers, and better street cleaning.

Only then, they felt, would they be getting the sort of service to justify the money they were paying to the council through their rates.