Plea to parents after rise in anti-social behaviour calls to police at Puttstars in Peterborough

The force has said that in the last two months, there has been a significant increase in calls in relation to anti-social behaviour, specifically relating to groups of youths at a new entertainment establishment PuttStars in Queensgate.

The new £2.6million mini-golf amusement centre opened its doors in November.

Inspector Lyndsay Mylchreest, from the Peterborough Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Since the opening of Puttstars, which is a welcome addition to the leisure facilities the city has to offer, it has attracted many young people who have been using the facility after school and at the weekends.

“The vast majority of those attending have not been causing any issues, however, a small minority are causing ASB such as vaping within the arcade, not listening to staff, being intimidating and abusive to other users of the facility and refusing to leave. There have also been several violent incidents including fights between large groups and assaults.

“We have increased patrols in the area at peak times and utilised powers to move people on where appropriate, however my plea is to parents and carers to make sure they know what their children are doing outside of school – a lot of time, effort and money has been put into making our city centre a better, more inviting place for people to visit, yet issues such as this recent ASB are impacting on the wider community.”

Jennifer Gillard, Centre Manager of Puttstars Peterborough, said: “We are aware of recent incidents of anti-social behaviour in the area. The safety of our guests and team members is our top priority and working together with our partners at Queensgate along with other city centre businesses, we are committed to help create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone to enjoy.”

Pep Cipriano, Business Improvement Manager for Peterborough Positive – the city centre’s Business Improvement District – added: “One of our main priorities is to work with businesses and partners to create a safer and more welcoming city centre.

“We’ve already recruited a city centre ambassador to engage with businesses and stakeholders to help prevent incidents of anti-social behaviour and we are supportive of the police plea to parents and guardians to be better aware of what their children are doing when not at school.”

Information and advice about anti-social behaviour can be found on the force’s dedicated ASB information pages, along with the option to report any concerns.