WHAT foul-mouthed teenagers get up to in a town centre bus shelter has driven two new Ashburton residents to complain to the town council about 'an intolerable situation'.
The alleged problems, including under-age drinking, smoking, swearing – especially by the girls – and occasional sexual experimentation, take place in the West Street bus shelter, the authority heard in a letter from the couple, whose name was not revealed.
'The temptation to demolish the shelter has been acute on a really bad day,' the letter, read to Tuesday's meeting by town clerk John Germon, admitted.
The new residents claimed they had been suffering 'some considerable nuisance' from youngsters loitering in and around the bus shelter situated between Kemp House and Sawdye and Harris' premises.
'They have also strayed into our private entrance alleyway, kicking the wheelie bins, throwing rubbish around and urinating against the bins,' the letter said.
'On one occasion I caught two boys throwing some sort of small firebombs around in our alleyway. This is an intolerable situation and cannot carry on.'
Trouble flares on most evenings and all day at weekends when teenagers congregate at the shelter, the letter said.
The teenagers indulge in drinking alcohol, smoking – both activities under-age and illegal – occasional sex experimentation, screaming and foul language, particularly from the girls.
'We have been out to reason with them but usually this has no effect whatever. The police have appeared from time to time, usually having been called by residents, but that seems to have little lasting effect.'
The letter stated that the stone-built bus shelter structure seemed to be the attraction, offering protection from the cold, wet and wind and concealment in the dark.
When the police appeared, the teenagers scattered and the rubbish left was indescribable.
'Some is thrown back over into Sawdye and Harris' car park, a proportion of which lands on the roof of the shelter. The rest is left in and around the shelter. We are grateful that the cleaners come around every morning early, including the weekends, to clean it all up and disinfect.
'We are certainly thankful for the weekend clear up. Until this happened we had to cope with the mess until the following Monday which was neither pleasant nor hygienic, and certainly not pleasant for anyone who came to visit.'
The letter appealed to the council for a change to the shelter's design so that it no longer provided concealment and the degree of comfort it currently did.
'This situation is becoming very serious now and we would like something done about it,' the letter said. 'We hope the town council can offer assistance. We cannot think you are not aware of what is going on and the town, not to mention some of the businesses, in the immediate area must be suffering as a result.'
Pc Lou Barlow told the meeting: 'It's an ongoing problem we are aware of and we are trying to do something about it. All we can do is move them on but they'll go somewhere else.
'We haven't the resources to be there all the time.'
Twenty or 30 youths had been out there the night before the meeting and they had been moved on, Pc Barlow said.
He knew that one of the nearby residents was moving out because of the problems, but the police had priorities to deal with.
Cllr Rhona Parker asked whether The Bank youth project had been open on a Monday night. 'Should we not be looking for somewhere for them to go rather than harassing them?' she said.
She suggested siting a street light opposite the shelter in order to illuminate it.
But Mr Germon said that in another area of town removing the end walls from a shelter had, 'touch wood', ended a graffiti problem, and the council is to seek estimates for something similar at the West Street shelter.