Private security guards to patrol town centre

Patrols will be out in Bedford town centre and Lurke Street car park (stock image)

A businessman has spent £10,000 on private security guards in a town centre which he said had seen a "massive increase in anti-social behaviour".

Peter McCormack, who owns Real Bedford Football Club, is bankrolling the Guardian Angel-style patrols of Bedford town centre this month.

Mr McCormack said that "we used to have policing in the town" but now it was "very, very rare", and he added that his girlfriend was afraid to visit with her son.

John Tizard, the Labour police commissioner for Bedfordshire, described the move as a "political stunt" and said "reported anti-social behaviour was the lowest it had been for a long time".

Peter McCormack said his security teams would be similar to the Guardian Angels

The guards from Belmont Guard Security Services will wear bodycams, and Mr McCormack said he wanted a set-up similar to the New York-based Guardian Angels, who patrol more than 130 cities, including London.

He said people should view his patrols as being "like scarecrows", and that if they spotted someone taking drugs or causing trouble, they would "ask them nicely to move on".

He added that his team "knew the town and the people causing problems well", and they would report any issues to the police.

Mr McCormack told the BBC he had met officers before launching the project.

Supt Hob Hoque, of Bedfordshire Police, said the force "welcomed the opportunity" to work with Mr McCormack but officers were already working "tirelessly, day in, day out, to keep Bedfordshire safe, particularly in town centres".

According to police data, there have been more than 1,000 incidents of anti-social behaviour in the town centre in the two years up to March 2025, accounting for almost 20% of the total in the borough.

Backed by Tizard, Bedford's Conservative mayor Tom Wootton has approved an updated Public Spaces Protection Order to tackle anti-social behaviour, which police and authorised council staff will be able to enforce.

Peter McCormack denied that the project was a political stunt

The commissioner said the police were doing a good job and had made more arrests and issued more fixed penalty notices since the launch of his Safer Streets initiative in six Bedfordshire town centres in June.

He said there were problems with people abusing drugs and alcohol in Bedford and admitted some people might not always feel safe, but he added there was now an average of four officers a day patrolling the town.

He also confirmed live facial recognition would also be introduced in the town centre.

Tizard said there was a role for private security, but only in shops and hospitality venues.

Although the commissioner called the project a political stunt, Mr McCormack said he had "zero interest" in entering the next mayoral contest in Bedford, scheduled for 2027.