One Merseyside McDonald's has been described as a "warzone" after dark.
Antisocial behaviour is a problem for councils across Merseyside and the wider country, however in St Helens, some of the trouble seems to be concentrated around one fast food restaurant. The McDonald's on Church Street in the town centre has seen several high profile incidents in recent months.
Namely, a vicious attack on a delivery driver by a gang of teenagers, which was caught on film just outside the restaurant. During the assault in March of this year, yobs allegedly hurled racist abuse and bit the delivery driver.
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The ECHO spoke to some people in St Helens town centre to see why they think the McDonald's has become a hotspot for antisocial behaviour. One person said: "I really wouldn't go there at night, it becomes like a warzone with all the kids kicking off. I don't know if it's that they have nowhere else to go or just that they want to cause trouble."
Another said: "I don't think it's just the McDonald's, there's trouble all over the town, but I don't know what you can expect. It's a ghost town with nothing for them to do."
In response to this, Councillor Jeanie Bell, St Helens Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Safer, Stronger Communities, said: "Since this appalling incident we have seen a significant reduction in anti-social behaviour (ASB) in this area, with reports for the town centre as a whole, down almost a quarter from the same period last year. This is down to proactive outreach work involving our community safety team who have liaised with the business and engaged with the young people, signposting them to a number of funded activities.
“Having recently gained Purple Flag accreditation which recognises a consistent increase in footfall and decrease in crime in the evening and night-time economy, we want people to feel safe when visiting St Helens town centre, so we simply will not tolerate ASB on any level.
“With major regeneration plans and late-night shopping over the Christmas period coming up, we want people to have a positive experience when visiting St Helens Town Centre and we will continue to work with partners to ensure this.”
A McDonald's spokesperson said: "The safety and security of our people and our customers is of the utmost importance to us and we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to anti-social behaviour in our restaurants. We are aware of the wider anti-social behaviour issues in the local area and strive to make our restaurants a safe and welcoming environment for all.
"We continue to work closely with our local community partners, including the local Police, to help ensure this remains the case."
Merseyside Police was approached for a comment.
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