EASTFIELD CHURCH TACKLES DRUG ADDICTS

A CHURCH is to put up barricades in a bid to keep out drug addicts
and drinkers who hide out in bushes behind the building.

The move comes after worshippers had to step over discarded needles,
bloody debris, and broken bottles on their way to services.

Now church authorities want to surround Salem Baptist Chapel, in
Dickens Street, Eastfield, Peterborough with a two-metre-high metal barricade.

They say it is the last resort in their battle against the drop-outs
who plague the area.

Church elder David Soames said removing hypodermic needles,
blood-soaked swabs and broken bottles left around the chapel was a daily chore.

Today, Mr Soames said: "It is an abomination that we have to keep
clearing it up.

"We should not have to turn our church into Fort Knox, but if it
beats the criminals, we will do it."

Mr Soames has already installed security lights in a bid to scare
away troublemakers, to no avail. Now he his putting his faith in high fencing.

He said: "Our building backs on to the Boongate roundabout and some
trees in between are a lovely hidey-hole for them where they can't be
seen. At the moment our site is open access.

"I've found syringes, discarded bottles and tins, blood-soaked swabs
and general filth.

"The local residents do not like it and nor to the people who come to
the church.

"We wanted work to go-ahead before Christmas but it may take until
February. The sooner we get some action the better. We hope the
fences will clear away the problem."

Problems on the area of land between Boongate and Dickens Street are
a constant cause of complaints by nearby residents.

The former Municipal Club was demolished in July after it had become
a haven for heroin and crack addicts since the building was left
derelict a decade ago.

Despite being boarded up on numerous occasions, addicts had returned
to the building, littering it with needles and rubbish.

Peterborough City Council's community safety manager Christine Graham
believes drug-users who frequented the Municipal Club may have moved
on to the clump of trees behind the chapel.

She said: "I suspect they were looking for somewhere else to go.

"We know there are problems in the area and that is why we thought we
had better put in some resources to prevent them."

East ward Councillor Stephen Goldspink said: "Some would call it
sacrilege. These people have no sense of reverence or duty at all.

"It is disappointing that we have not been able to rid the area of
drug problems. It seems that what we have managed to do is move it up the road.

"Hopefully a fence will persuade these people to pursue their habits
in their own homes and preferably in another city."

A planning application to install a 2.1 metre security fencing around
the chapel's boundary and single and double gates has been submitted
to the city council and a decision is expected next month.

It is expected the fence will cost UKP5,000, and will be paid for by
the church and the council.