DRUG dealers have reportedly been knocking out the lights at two Wirral underpasses as they “like to do their deals” in the dark, according to a petitioner.
At an environment, climate emergency, and transport committee meeting, Mark Craig, from the New Ferry Tenants Association, presented a petition signed by over 300 people about two underpasses that go underneath the Rock Ferry bypass off Thorburn Close and Beaconsfield Road in the area. He said the issue was regularly raised on local Facebook pages and had been going back at least ten years.
He said: “At night the lights are not working and I know that the council have replaced the lights in the past but the problem is the drug dealers who like to do their deals in that location very rapidly have the lights smashed out again.”
Mr Craig added: “For residents trying to get through on dark evenings, it is rather unpleasant because you have to wade through any flood water that’s got in there, any dog dirt in there which you cannot see. The smell is disgusting, the smell of urine.”
He said the council had recently come and painted over some graffiti thanking them, adding: “Something more needs to be done, particularly as far as the lighting is concerned because there have been incidents where youths gather at the ends from time to time and hurl verbal abuse at residents who walk past at night. So many residents just want to avoid it at night but it’s quite a long detour around.”
He said New Ferry had waited long enough and drug dealing had got worse in the area. After delivering the petition, Mr Craig has since told the LDRS he had since been told the lighting had been fixed at Thornburn Close hoping it would last.
In response, Cllr Elizabeth Grey, the chair of the committee, thanked Mr Craig “for raising such an important matter.” She said she was currently working on a similar issue with underpasses under the M53, adding: “I do appreciate what you are saying. It sounds very similar.”
She said: “Those underpasses, they are a magnet for antisocial behaviour if we’re not careful so we’ll take on board everything you say. It parallels the work that I’m doing in those underpasses as well to try and improve safety and to make sure people want to use them and aren’t frightened at all.”
Following the meeting, Wirral local policing Inspector Nicola Hughes told the LDRS: “While we have limited reports of anti-social behaviour around the underpasses in New Ferry, we understand the impact it can have on those who live, work and visit the area.
“We are aware of criminal activity taking place in the New Ferry area and as a result in the last several months there has been a visible police presence, as drug dealing is hugely damaging and a blight to our communities. Our officers actively patrol the area on foot and use the subways daily to maintain a high visibility presence, and strategically target key risk areas.
“We have made a number of arrests for drug dealing in the New Ferry area. On Wednesday 12 March officers arrested a 24-year-old man from Pensby on suspicion of supplying of class A drugs, suspected cocaine. Five people were arrested last month when officers sighted suspected drug dealing near the underpass on Bebington Road.
“This work is ongoing as we proactively carry out stop searches, warrants, land searches and arrests all year round, and in many instances it is thanks to the public who tell us where there are issues in the community. This will continue, and we want the community to provide us with intelligence that we can utilise to target criminals in the area and safeguard vulnerable people who could be being exploited by criminal gangs.
“Any kind of criminal activity and anti-social behaviour won’t be tolerated, and our proactive patrols in the New Ferry area is part of our ongoing work. We actively and robustly respond to any incidents reported to us. It is also vitally important that people should always report concerns to police, and not assume that someone else has done this.
“It means that we can continue to move our resources into the right areas and offer support to those who need it. Anti-social behaviour is a community priority and as such we continue to work with our key partners, including Wirral Council, to look at different measures to reduce crime, whether it’s improving environmental factors such as cutting back foliage, street lighting and CCTV in the area.”
