Pair of street drinkers banned from Peterborough city centre in anti-social behaviour crackdown

Two street drinkers have been banned from Peterborough city centre as part of a clamp down on anti-social behaviour.

Mark Currie (58) of Goodacre, Orton Goldhay, and Steven Thain (60) of Oakley Drive, Orton Longueville, were sentenced at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court recently after receiving a summons from Peterborough City Council for persistently breaching the city centre Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

Each had numerous offences for drinking alcohol within the PSPO area and refusing to dispose or disperse of their drinks when requested by officers.

Magistrates handed them Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs), meaning they can now face an instant arrest if they breach the ruling, such as for drinking alcohol in the PSPO zone. They must also have a valid reason for entering the area.

Councillor Steve Allen, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, said: “We are fully committed to working with our partners, including the police, to tackle issues such as anti-social behaviour which we take extremely seriously.

“The city centre PSPO has been in place for six years now, and these latest offences show that our officers will take appropriate action against anyone who breaches its conditions.”

Sergeant Steve Rose, from Peterborough’s City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Tackling anti-social behaviour in the city centre is a priority for our team, so this is welcome news. We will continue to work alongside the council and support them with PSPO enforcement, including any breaches of court orders such as these latest CBOs which are an arrestable offence.”

PSPOs enable Local Authorities to deal with a particular issue in a particular area that is having a detrimental effect on the quality of life for those in the local community. Orders set out a number of conditions that anyone within the area must adhere to, such as surrendering alcohol in their possession.

The city centre PSPO was originally implemented in 2017 and extended for a further three years in May 2023. The order has succeeded in driving down many types of anti-social behaviour and crime in the city centre, such as littering, spitting, unauthorised cycling and anti-social behaviour associated with street drinking.

PSPOs directly enable the Local Authority and the Safer Peterborough Partnership achieve their objectives to ‘Keep our communities safe, cohesive and healthy’ and to ‘Tackle anti-social behaviour’.

Recently there have been a number of shoplifters who have been given CBOs in Peterborough, in a bid to stop them offending.

Paul English was given a CBO banning him from Tesco and B&M stores in the city, while Jolene Maughan was banned from Queensgate after she caused misery to shopkeepers in the centre.

Edward Wilby was banned from the Bretton Centre after he committed a number of crimes in the area.

The Peterborough Telegraph also revealed that a new police officer had been appointed to specifically tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the city centre.

The officer started last month, after shop keepers raised concerns about a number of issues.

Anyone with information about people breaching CBOs should contact Cambridgeshire police on 101.