Anti-social behaviour makes town 'feel like Wild West' storms councillor

* The rubbish-strewn appearance of the bridge at 7pm last night.

Bouts of bank holiday anti-social behaviour made Llangollen town centre feel like the Wild West, says a furious local county councillor.

Karen Edwards claims businesses and visitors were subjected to "completely unacceptable scenes" and that she contacted police to request immediate assistance.

Yesterday evening as crowds subsided after a day of high temperatures, one disgusted resident and business person contacted llanblogger to complain about rubbish left strewn across the bridge from where youngsters were jumping down into the river and "going to get killed," they feared.

In a hard-hitting statement issued shortly afterwards County Councillor Edwards said: "I am extremely concerned and deeply frustrated by the serious anti-social behaviour witnessed in Llangollen over the weekend. 

"Residents, local businesses and visitors were subjected to completely unacceptable scenes in what should be a safe and welcoming town.

"I contacted North Wales Police directly to request immediate assistance and made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that the lack of any visible police presence in Llangollen was totally unacceptable. 

"At times, the situation felt like the Wild West, with residents and businesses left feeling unsupported and vulnerable."

She continued: "This behaviour was entirely predictable given that Llangollen has been subjected to similar anti-social behaviour on numerous occasions before, particularly during periods of hot weather and high visitor numbers. 

"Despite this, there was simply no visible police presence to reassure residents, businesses or visitors.

"Llangollen is a busy and vibrant town which attracts large numbers of visitors, particularly during warm weekends, and our community deserves to see a consistent and reassuring police presence on our streets. People must feel safe in their own town centre, and businesses should not be left to deal with disorder and intimidation alone.

"I have urged the police to review the events of the weekend urgently and to ensure that adequate resources are allocated to Llangollen going forward. 

"Our community cannot continue to be left completely defenceless and without proper visible policing to avoid incidents like this occurring in the first place. We pay for policing through our council tax and expect to receive the service we pay for.

"I will continue pressing for stronger action and greater police visibility to protect residents, businesses and visitors alike."

* llanblogger has requested an official response from North Wales Police.