Police get tough with drinkers at Beggar's Fair

8:00am Friday 13th July 2012 in News

Police get tough with drinkers at Beggar's Fair Police get tough with drinkers at Beggar's Fair

POLICE are getting tough with outdoor drinkers at this weekend’s Beggar’s Fair in Romsey.

They have vowed to take action against anyone found drinking alcohol in a public place at tomorrow’s annual event in the town.

Organisers had an extra £2,000 police bill after a rise in assaults and anti-social behaviour last year.

One man was jailed for eight years for an attack the night of the fair last July.

A crown court heard Lewis Packham, then 19, of Tavistock Close, Romsey, had assaulted Andrew Tuckwell near the junction of Winchester Hill and Cupernham Lane leaving him in a coma and with permanent brain damage.

This year the event has changed from two days to just Saturday, from 11am until 10pm.

As usual on offer will be music, song and dance designed to appeal to all tastes.

Pubs have agreed to have licensed door staff and not allow people to take alcohol outside.

Anyone drinking alcohol in public will have it removed and could be banned for 24 hours.

Comments(17)

bigfella777 says...
8:16am Fri 13 Jul 12

Sounds like such a fun event,all the entertainment is outside so how on earth does this work.

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wickhamman says...
8:30am Fri 13 Jul 12

You don't need to drink to enjoy the day.

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Taskforce 141 says...
8:47am Fri 13 Jul 12

wickhamman wrote:
You don't need to drink to enjoy the day.
So the good citizens get tarnished with the same brush as the scum - i'm sure plenty of people were drinking last year, but thanks to some utter **** sensible people cannot enjoy a drink with the entertainment.

A drink isnt necessary to enjoy he day but if thats what you want to do, why should you be punished by the actions of scum?

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bigfella777 says...
9:08am Fri 13 Jul 12

Taskforce 141 wrote:
wickhamman wrote:
You don't need to drink to enjoy the day.
So the good citizens get tarnished with the same brush as the scum - i'm sure plenty of people were drinking last year, but thanks to some utter **** sensible people cannot enjoy a drink with the entertainment.

A drink isnt necessary to enjoy he day but if thats what you want to do, why should you be punished by the actions of scum?
Thats my point too, if you can have a couple of scrumpys responsibly and enjoy yourself with a bit of Wurzel type music surely thats the whole idea of the event.
You cant stop chavs turning up tanked up from home anyway.

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louisa12 says...
10:09am Fri 13 Jul 12

bigfella777 wrote:
Sounds like such a fun event,all the entertainment is outside so how on earth does this work.
a lot of the entertainment is inside the pubs so if people aren't going to be allowed outside there is going to be a lot of pushing and shoving so there could be trouble inside the pub !

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cliffwalker says...
10:44am Fri 13 Jul 12

This is just another example of punishing the many for the actions of a very few. The correct response to antisocial behaviour is to stamp down on it fast and hard. The police need to be on top of it at soon as it happens and courts should hand out severe sentences.

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Georgem says...
11:08am Fri 13 Jul 12

Err, the Lewis Packham case is pretty much irrelevant here, other than it coincidentally happened on the same night as the fair, in the same town, but nowhere near the site of the fair. Oh, and he'd been drinking IN A PUB that day. You know, like he'd be able to this time round, with the 'ban' in place.

I wonder who cited the Packham case here as one of the reasons for this crackdown. Was it Plod? Or is it the Echo declaring war on straw once again?

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Walter K says...
11:45am Fri 13 Jul 12

As Georgem states, the Packham case was unfairly linked at the time and continues to be unfairly linked to the Beggars Fair. As I understand it, the majority of disorder that occurred last year was due to rival factions of youths from Shirley Warren and Millbrook who chose to frequent Romsey on that particular day. It's a real shame that an historically enjoyable family event has effectively become tarnished.

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Huffter says...
12:06pm Fri 13 Jul 12

Where you drink the alcohol is immaterial - it's how you behave afterwards.

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Georgem says...
12:18pm Fri 13 Jul 12

Huffter wrote:
Where you drink the alcohol is immaterial - it's how you behave afterwards.
Exactly. This is a ridiculous response to a problem.

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swifty_dss says...
1:08pm Fri 13 Jul 12

I was planning to go to this, but I won't bother now. I don't like the whole 'guilty until proven innocent' this type of thing implies. If a few morons get drunk and behave badly, target them - don't prescribe what I'm allowed to do

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housewife says...
1:13pm Fri 13 Jul 12

So, let me get this straight. There will be NO Alcohol allowed while watching bands on the Cornmarket stage or those by the Abbey or in King John's Garden or by the White Horse.
Where there has NEVER been any trouble.
Great. Why not just cancel the whole event.
The 'dry' part of the event - in the Memorial park will probably be flooded out anyway.

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OSPREYSAINT says...
3:07pm Fri 13 Jul 12

I take it if you go outside for a smoke, you can't take your glass with you, by the time you get back in, someone will have knicked it.

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boobooj says...
3:18pm Fri 13 Jul 12

The one year I've gone to the Beggars Fair, my friends and I found ourselves on the wrong end of a drunken knuckle-scraper within half an hour of arriving. Fortunately, we can all handle ourselves and were sober, so the situation ended without it turning ugly. My point is, for every actual assault, there are probably another 2 or 3 altercations between good folk wanting to enjoy a couple of drinks and some music and the scum that the Fair seems to inexplicably attract.

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cantthinkofone says...
5:44pm Fri 13 Jul 12

OSPREYSAINT wrote:
I take it if you go outside for a smoke, you can't take your glass with you, by the time you get back in, someone will have knicked it.
Or worse...

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OSPREYSAINT says...
11:16pm Fri 13 Jul 12

cantthinkofone wrote:
OSPREYSAINT wrote: I take it if you go outside for a smoke, you can't take your glass with you, by the time you get back in, someone will have knicked it.
Or worse...
Quote: "Anyone drinking alcohol in public will have it removed and could be banned for 24 hours". Using a stomach pump I suppose?

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TEBOURBA says...
12:07pm Sat 14 Jul 12

It is a great event, set in one of Hampshire's finest villages.
I'm in favour of the ban it may put off many yobs coming to it.
Those who do come, with a belly full of beer, bent on making trouble, will stick out like a sore thumb making it easier for the police to spot and deal with.
Sensible people can have a quiet drink in the pub or pub gardens and enjoy the day.

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