Police stretched by 'rowdiness'

Insp Robin Rickard said his officers were responding to so many incidents of violence in the town centre that other areas were having to go without a police presence at all.

Insp Rickard made his comments as he unsuccessfully opposed Smarts Chip Shop owner Joao Jardim's application to the Vale of White Horse District Council's licensing sub-committee to open until 1.30am.

He told the hearing: "Every Friday and Saturday night, and some Thursdays, police officers from the Abingdon sector have to be called in to the town centre to deal with violent and drunken behaviour. "It is well known that police resources are stretched. The trouble in Abingdon involves all our resources and that means there is no police cover in the rest of the sector from south of Oxford to Sutton Courtenay and surrounding villages.

"There are no routine police patrols in these areas although, should there be an incident, we would of course respond.

"We are worried about the situation in Abingdon. I don't want to see people get hurt and land up in the casualty department at hospital."

Insp Rickard spoke of groups of "drunken, unruly and volatile young people" congregating in large groups in The Square after Strattons nightclub closes at 2am. He said Smarts Chip Shop was a "honeypot" for young people seeking food. He added: "Some cause trouble and it it is very difficult to disperse them".

Mr Jardim, 31, has run the shop for three years. His solicitor, Nigel Shaw, said there had only been two incidents of trouble in the shop in that time.

The licensing sub-committee granted the licence until 1.30am in the absence of any reports of trouble on the premises, and a lack of complaints from nearby residents or businesses.

But town mayor David Allinson added: "The council is going to discuss the whole of the late-night opening issue within the town, rather than on an individual application-by-application basis."