Time to stamp out anti-social behaviour in Lincoln

Yesterday evening (5th November) saw a large bonfire lit at the Tower Crescent play area, with a group of around 30 people involved, garden fence panels stolen and fireworks thrown at police officers. One person has been arrested in relation to public order offences.

Councillor Clare Smalley, Lib Dem councillor for Abbey Ward said: “The scenes on Tower Estate last night were shocking but sadly not surprising after a recent surge in anti-social behaviour. Garden fence panels stolen for firewood, a bonfire in the play area and fireworks being thrown at responding police officers – with local residents left terrified.

“Anti-social behaviour needs stamping out of Lincoln. But to do that our local police teams need support. Neighbourhood officers are in short supply after a decade of neglect by the Conservative Government and the impact of that is being felt across the city.

“People in Lincoln, from Tower Estate to Glebe Park, need more local officers, faster response times and city council serious about tackling ASB so that the yobs blighting our city can be dealt with properly.”

Clare added: “Many local residents have called for the play area to be locked again at night to help avoid antisocial behaviour in the play area. City of Lincoln Council have told us that this was not possible. I was even told by Council officers that residents would need to take on this responsibility themselves, which is completely unacceptable, when volunteers could possibly be faced with this level of disruption to contend with.”

Lincolnshire Police have asked people with information to come forward: “The investigation into this incident is in its early stages and work is underway to establish the exact circumstances. If you have any information which you think might help the enquiry please contact us on 101, quoting incident 324 of 05/11/2023, or email force.control@lincs.police.uk.”