Walsall Market traders' concerns over bad behaviour creating town centre ‘battle zone’
Walsall town centre is plagued by violence and anti-social behaviour, it has been claimed, amid calls for a stronger police presence.
Traders at Walsall Market say there are not enough patrols to drive out drunk and disorderly people. Some are so ‘fed up’ they have contemplated moving from the town.
The market operates between 8.30am and 5pm every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, but they have said they feel unsafe because of people who are ‘paralytic by the early afternoon’.
Gary McManus, aged 48, from Bromsgrove, said: “We have got a problem here. I have seen two people who look like zombies because they are so drugged up and I have never seen anyone like that before.
“There is not enough police on patrol. You will try to get people stealing from you but there is not a policeman in sight.
"There needs to be some kind of a deterrent for them.”
A trader, who did not want to be named out of fear that he would be targeted, has run his family business there for 30 years.
He said: “Just the other week I had stock stolen. We are fed up and sick of it. It is a battle zone. By 2pm or 3pm they become paralytic.”
Sergeant Lee Nicholls, from Walsall town centre police, said: “We are aware of concerns from market traders around anti-social behaviour and endeavour to carry out regular patrols in the town centre to try and combat this.”
