A BUS shelter has been labelled a “drugs den”, “urinal” and “magnet for problems” amid demands that it be removed.
The old black bus stop on Park Avenue, Saltney, is sited near to the spot where last week 39-year-old Garry Newman, of Salisbury Avenue, was set on outside his home and his windows trashed.
Town councillor Veronica Gay visited Mr Newman soon after his ordeal.
Along with residents, she has asked fellow councillors to remove the shelter on nearby Park Avenue which, she says, attracts anti-social behaviour.
She said: “It’s an awful situation. Youths use this for all sorts of horrible actions from drug dealing to urinating.
“The residents keep asking when are the town council going to get rid of it. It’s a drugs den and a urinal. Nobody in their right mind would go in it.”
Police Insp Alun Oldfield told the town council last week: “Is there a need for this bus shelter? It looks awful and there’s no doubt it’s a magnet for problems.
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes – youths congregate there. When people are in the bus stop, people can’t see what’s happening in there.”
Mr Newman himself, who had warned before his attack somebody would get hurt , says: “I know some people go to the top of the road to get the bus. Why they need another one so close I don’t know.
“Does it have to be in the corner of the path? Why can’t it be on the front so that everyone’s on view? At night-time you daren’t use it. It’s just an eyesore.”
While Cllr Gay called for the bus stop’s immediate withdrawal, town mayor Klaus Armstrong-Braun suggested it be left there until a modern shelter is found.
“The disabled use that a lot,” he added.
The proposal to get rid of the stop will be considered at the next meeting of the town council on November 12.
