Benches 'disappear' after being covered in paint

Karen Youngman, 72, says drug users and homeless people frequent the park

Residents in a Cambridgeshire town have been left mystified over the disappearance of seven park benches.

Some locals in Wisbech town centre thought they had been removed from the War Memorial Garden in The Crescent to discourage street drinkers, who they claim have been causing anti-social issues in the area.

Fenland District Council confirmed they had taken them away a week ago to be refurbished and cleaned after they were found covered in anti-climb paint. The benches will be returned in due course.

Speculation is rife that the perpetrator took the action on 3 September to prevent more anti-social meet-ups of street drinkers.

Empty space were one of the seven benches was removed after being daubed with anti-climb paint

Diane Rowlett, 52, says she is pleased the benches have gone, as it has stopped street drinkers gathering in the gardens

"I am pleased that the benches have gone, I'd be happy if they didn't come back", says Diane Rowlett, 52, who lives close to the War Memorial Garden.

"You get big groups of people gathering there, every weekend, into the early hours playing loud music, arguing, fighting it is really annoying. I don't know why they don't lock it.

"Our town's War Memorial is in the gardens, honouring our war dead, who gave their lives, for what? For anti-social behaviour every week.

"People have complained about it, but nothing gets done and some residents will take the law into their own hands, and I think someone has damaged those benches to stop the gatherings".

Karen Youngman, 72, lives in Wisbech and regularly walks past the memorial and the garden.

"You see all sorts of people in there, on drugs, drinking, no where to live, no where to go. I have even seen a tent in there.

"It can be noisy, they argue, they fight. I wouldn't come here at night; it frightens me. There is no CCTV; if there was, what good would it do?"

Hairdresser Zoe Kubat says the disappearance of the benches has been 'a big talking point'

Zoe Kubat, 63, has run a hair salon for 17 years opposite the gardens.

"It has been a big talking point in my salon, with us all wondering what happened to the benches; they just seemed to disappear.

"You do get younger people playing loud music and making noise, drinking alcohol, and I have seen people using the grounds as a loo.

"We now know the benches had been coated in anti-climb paint, but we don't know who did it or what their motives were. Perhaps they were fed up with the situation with the anti-social behaviour. We just don't know."

Some locals say Wisbech War Memorial Garden is a magnet for anti-social behaviour

Fenland District Council said: "All seven benches from the War Memorial Garden in Wisbech had to be removed after being covered in anti-climb paint in what appears to be a deliberate act of vandalism.

"Our cleansing team attended to try and clean the benches in-situ but unfortunately the damage was too great. They have been removed to undergo refurbishment and will be returned in due course".

The Wisbech neighbourhood policing team said in a statement that apart from a couple of incidents, they had no reports of street drinking or alcohol-related disorder in June, July and August in the The Crescent or museum area.

They added: "We have recorded a crime for the damage to the benches [crime reference 35/65463/24], but it has now been filed pending any further lines of inquiry. Anyone with any information can contact us, quoting that reference number.

"Since September 2022, police have carried out more than 200 dedicated patrols to address anti-social street drinking within Wisbech town centre, often assisted by colleagues by the district council. Those patrols continue in the area.

"In the two years since then, we have referred 59 street drinkers to our support hub to offer support. We have also issued five community protection warnings to nuisance street drinkers and prosecuted two street drinkers who have not accepted support and have continued to offend."