'I have had a bag of old needles thrown at me'

Jason Rivers and his colleague Katie, from Lost Time on Wentworth Street, said the city council needed to take "some responsibility"

A tattoo parlour owner has received death threats and had a bag of used needles thrown at him for highlighting anti-social behaviour on his street.

Jason Rivers, who runs Lost Time in Peterborough, said his area was blighted with drug-taking, begging and shoplifting despite being yards from the Town Hall.

Gina and Ed Baines, who run a neighbouring business called Bottle and Board, said the problem of speeding delivery drivers was also "a fatality waiting to happen".

Cambridgeshire Police said tackling the problems was a "priority".

Mr Rivers said he felt angry that businesses had been left to deal with issues themselves and called responses from the city council and the police "empty promises".

Ed and Gina Baines said the city council had promised barriers and new No Entry signs - but nothing has been done

Bottle and Board opened in 2020 and has a licensed outdoor seating space on the pavement.

But Mrs Baines said cars parking close to their doorways was impacting on custom.

'No regard'

"It is an incredible amount of traffic on this tight street leading up to Bridge Street," she said.

"I left the shop yesterday and a car nearly hit me. There is just no regard for anyone and the authorities just don’t seem to do anything.

"It's got to a point where we are considering if it's safe for us and our customers here."

Local resident Steve told the BBC how he and his dog were almost hit by a delivery driver.

"It just came down the corner and no regard for anyone and we had to jump out of the way," he said.

"If my dog was on a longer lead, she would have been under the car."

Delivery drivers regularly park up despite there being at least four sings saying no parking on the street

A delivery driver, who did not wish to be named, said: "Where else can we go?

"I was given a parking ticket yesterday on another similar street, but we need the council to give us more loading bays."

Businesses are now calling on Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire Police for permanent solutions, including secure barriers and No Entry signs, CCTV and street patrols.

A delivery driver wanted the city council to provide sufficient loading bays for them

The issues of illegal parking are replicated on Cowgate.

Cambridgeshire Police said it had "not seen a huge spike in calls for service in the Wentworth Street area, but are aware of similar issues in Cowgate".

The force said work was ongoing with partners on street drinking, begging, anti-social behaviour and homelessness.

A city council spokesperson said: "We are aware of the issues that have been described on Wentworth Street and we are working with the police to see how they can be resolved."