Published: February 14, 2007
Exclusive: Burnham petition calls for action to cut down on violence

Worried residents living along South Street in the centre of Burnham-On-Sea have this week spoken out about their "living nightmare" caused by "escalating violence" besides their homes.

In a special interview with Burnham-On-Sea.com, residents of South Street say their lives are being made a misery because of the problems of late night drinkers using the road as a cut-through from pubs on the seafront to Shakers night club in the High Street.

They have signed a petition calling on the police and local councils to urgently tackle the problem following "dozens" of incidents.

Val Carter, who is the Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator for South Street and Sunny Lawns, and her husband Pat (both pictured above) told Burnham-On-Sea.com about the latest incident to concern residents.

"In the latest incident - last Sunday - a fight broke out involving up to eight people and one man was left with severe facial injuries. We woke up at 1.30am to the sound of a fight underway outside and looked out to see one man badly injured. We later heard he had a fractured skull, a broken eye socket, both cheek bones broken and a broken nose."

"The next morning there were pools of blood all across the road. And just hours earlier, an unoccupied house along the street was also broken into."

She added: "This is just the tip of the problem - we've seen many other incidents. In the last few months, cars here have been vandalised, paint has been thrown on walls, rubbish bins has been set alight, and the windows of the cafe have been smashed."

"Residents are really frightened - so much so that one young couple with three children is already selling up and moving because they've had enough."

Val added: "We've lived here for over eight years and the problem is definitely getting progressively worse. South Street is constantly used as a cut-through from Michaels Bar and Wetherspoons on the seafront to get to the Shakers night club."

The route - shown on the map here - is particularly busy at weekends.

"It all seems to have escalated since the introduction of longer opening hours at the pubs. The new licensing laws have been great for the pubs' trade, but a nightmare for us. This road is often a sea of shattered glass on Saturday and Sunday mornings once the drinkers have gone through overnight."

"Steve Galway, the manager of Michael's Bar, came along to one of our Neighbourhood Watch meetings and has kindly put up notices in the pub asking drinkers to respect local residents when they leave, but they haven't worked."

This week, residents discussed the matter in depth at their Neighbourhood Watch meeting and a petition is now being organised to lobby local police and politicians.

"It's already been signed by the owners of 15 homes and we will also be writing to the police, our MP and both the town and Sedgemoor district councils to try and get a solution. Action is urgently needed."

The group has already considered several possible solutions and wants to discuss these in more detail.

Val said: "I understand that no new CCTV cameras are available in Burnham because the town has already reached its maximum quota - so ideally we'd like the street cut off and turned into a cul-de-sac. The entrance at the seafront end could be completely blocked off."

"Another possible solution is the introduction of new bye-laws stating that access is only allowed to residents between, say, 11pm and 5am. No-one else would be allowed along the street overnight. This would ensure drinkers are kept away from our residents area."

Responding to the comments this week, Burnham-On-Sea Police Sergeant Ian Kennett told Burnham-On-Sea.com on Tuesday evening (February 13th) that he will be meeting the residents shortly to discuss the issue.

"The residents are in a very unfortunate position because they live between the pubs and club," he said. "It's one of several areas in Burnham that we are constantly monitoring."

He added: "We need to analyse what's happening and to see if we can find a permanent, long-term solution, rather than just a short-term one."

"We will be meeting with the Neighbourhood Watch group very shortly to try and find a solution. We definitely want to work closely together."