MANY of your readers must have been surprised to read in your columns recently (Letters, July 29) of the unpleasantness suffered by Plymouth Road residents from drunken behaviour, shouting and abuse, car racing and loud music from the Bedford car park.
I called for a full report on the situation. I learned that the police are aware of problems and know that young people tend to gather there in the evenings. It was a surprise however to be told that police records show very few complaints having been received about noise and the like.
Only five complaints were logged last year and 14 the year before, and many of those concern dogs in over-heated cars and the like. Not everything can be reported promptly of course, but still the small number of reports compared to other areas of the town does not justify giving the area a higher priority.
The police assure us they will keep watch ? and the Government is at last giving them stronger powers to control disorderly behaviour ? but they can?t be everywhere at once. They need to know where the trouble spots are. They need our help.
The moral of this story is: it is better to ring them at the time than to write to the paper some time after the event.
R F Eberlie
Tavistock member
West Devon Borough Council