LEOMINSTER’S police chief has rounded on critics who claim trouble in the town is so bad that some parts are now no-go areas.

Stung by the attacks, having led a highly successful crackdown on anti-social behaviour two years ago, Inspector Pete Wilson fought back with figures to show that the complaints do not add up.

Gangs of youths were said to be so out-of-hand that some parts of the town – The Grange, and the areas around Bridge Street Sports Centre and the Infants/Junior school – were effectively no-go areas.

“Our figures showed that there wasn’t a problem to talk of. If the complaints from various quarters were to be believed, it indicated a high level of under reporting – so we decided to find out which was correct,” said Insp Wilson.

For the past two months patrolling PCs and Community Support Officers have paid regular attention to the three areas.

In November officers were called twice to The Grange, three times to Bridge Street and once to the school. Over December calls dropped to one each for The Grange and the school, while none came in for Bridge Street.

When compared to the figures for September – five calls to The Grange, three to Bridge Street and one to the school – the numbers were coming down, from a low base.

“Bearing in mind we were also patrolling those areas on a far greater basis, we can say with confidence that these areas are not what they have been painted to be,” said Insp Wilson.

“While we still had the odd call, the reality appears to be a distance away from the public perception of high anti-social behaviour and crime.”

To get a second opinion, those on the frontline at The Grange were asked how bad things were. Litter was their biggest bugbear but everything else had been “very quiet” since October. The council’s parks department went further, saying it had been “unusually quiet” since the summer.

Checks with the schools showed no evidence of youths using them as drinking spots, while numbers attending the local youth club are up.

Insp Wilson led a highly successful crackdown on trouble in the town two years ago, when there was a recognised problem. Then, Leominster became one of the first communities in the country to invoke special powers allowing police to clear streets if they suspected that trouble was brewing.

“I’m satisfied that Leominster is a safe place, we’ll continue to do all we can to see it stays that way,” said Insp Wilson.