Street cleaners wear stab-proof vests

6:08pm Wednesday 2nd April 2008

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Wimbledon street cleaners have begun wearing stab-proof vests as concern grows over drunken disorder in the town centre on Friday and Saturday nights.

A Merton Council employee has revealed cleaning teams are being threatened and attacked as they clear up a town centre that resembles a "cauldron of vomit, urine and beer".

And with late licensing hours and fast food outlets now closing as late as 5am, the cleaners believe the problem is getting worse.

"We've had so many near-misses and it's only a matter of time until one of us gets seriously hurt," said one, who chose not to be named.

"We've even had to duck for cover and retreat into our cleaning vehicles, but that won't stop them trying to throw bottles at us."

He added: "The Broadway's like a cauldron of vomit, urine and beer - just outrageous. I don't know how people living in the area manage to get any sleep in the evenings.

"It's an absolute nightmare. We have to keep an eye out for each other. There's a knack to dealing with drunk people and we've learnt how to duck out the way when people throw bottles and punches."

A spokeswoman for Merton Council said the stab-proof vests were a "precautionary measure".

"We want to make sure we protect all our staff, especially those who can be out until three or four in the morning," she added.

According to the borough commander of Merton police, Chris Bourlet, tackling alcohol-related crime in Wimbledon is a priority.

He said: "Wimbledon is a great place to come for a night out, but sometimes we do get complaints about rowdy behaviour late at night because the residential areas are so close to the town centre.

"Safer Merton is looking at ways of reducing antisocial behaviour related to alcohol, underage drinking and increasing the safety of those coming to Wimbledon on a night out.

Kirsty Kennedy, a resident living in Queens Road, has regularly suffered from the antisocial behaviour on Friday and Saturday nights, with her car repeatedly vandalised.

"I've even had my windscreen smashed in," she said. "It's a shock because you think this is a safe place but at night it's clearly a different picture. It'd be great to really get an idea of the scale of this problem."