Butcher calls for support after threats to staff

Butcher Graham Parker said he has regularly seen shopkeepers and customers in Meir be intimidated

A butcher who said his staff were threatened by a man saying he would "chop their heads off" has called for problematic drug users to be given support.

Graham Parker, owner of Parkers Butchers in Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, said he has regularly seen shopkeepers and customers be intimidated.

Lauren Davison, Labour councillor for Meir North and Broadway, described her constituency as a "police hotspot", calling for some of the £20m Pride & Place funding to be spent on cameras, lights and gates to make parts of it safer.

"[Meir is] not a nice place for people to come and shop and it's affecting the business," added Mr Parker.

Mr Parker has been trading on Weston Road in the town since 1979 and described the current state of the area as "dreadful".

"[Drug users] need support... to help them get back into society."

Mr Parker said the incident at his butchers on Weston Road took place on 18 November, but added it did not come as a surprise to him.

Officers were called to reports of anti-social behaviour at the premises, and a man was later arrested and charged with criminal damage to property valued under £5,000 and failing to comply with a community protection notice.

"There were customers in the shop who were frightened to go out because [the man was] in the doorway screaming, shouting and threatening," he said.

"There was a two-year-old and she was very, very upset and frightened," he added.

Referring to one of his staff, he said: "He threatened to cut off their head... it's just insane."

Mr Parker claimed staff strongly suspected the man was under the influence of drugs, which Davison recognised as a growing issue in the town and in nearby alleyways.

"People are taking drugs down [alleyways] and dealing them as well, and [residents] just feel generally unsafe," she said.

Residents have also reported people are sleeping, defecating and burning stolen goods in secluded areas behind homes and businesses, she said, adding that people living in Meir no longer felt safe to walk out of their back gate alone.

Councillor Davison also said two police officers were attacked up the alleyway behind Smiths Buildings

Davison said she was pleased to see more police patrols but raised concerns about proposed PCSO cuts and slow responses to 101 calls.

She suggested installing street lighting, CCTV cameras and gates to make the problem areas on Weston Road safer.

"Residents have to walk down Weston Road to get to their GP, and I've had elderly residents say they won't walk on their own because they don't feel safe - and that's not acceptable," she stated.

To make these improvements, the councillor is willing to use her ward budget, and suggested more be spent from the Pride & Place funding for Meir.

She also recommended Stoke-on-Trent City Council apply for Public Realm Works and Designing Out Crime funds.