A street drinker renowned for upsetting people with his drunken antics has now been banned from parts of Newark.
Complaints against Graham Watson and his group have included public defecation and urination, shouting, swearing, drunken behaviour, arguments and fighting.
Having heard how this rowdy behaviour was making people feel intimidated and unsafe, steps were taken last October to try to stop Watson’s behaviour by serving him with a community protection notice.
The 54-year-old has ignored this, however, and instead decided to repeatedly defy the conditions of the notice by continuing to drink in the street at different points throughout April this year.
Evidence of these breaches was recorded, either first-hand by Newark and Sherwood District Council’s community protection officers or by operators monitoring footage in the area’s CCTV Control Room.
Based on this, Watson, of Vessey Close, Balderton, was summoned to appear before Nottingham Magistrates’ Court last Monday (3 August).
Despite deciding not to attend, he was still made the subject of a two-year criminal behaviour order (CBO), which was granted following an application led by the council in partnership with Nottinghamshire Police.
Watson was also fined £420 after being found guilty by magistrates of breaching the community protection notice.
Under the CBO, Watson is banned from entering the grounds of Hope Church or St Mary Magdalene Church, socialising in Newark with members of his group, and congregating in public with two or more people in a manner that could cause harassment, alarm or distress.
He is also prohibited from being drunk or drinking alcohol in any public place in Newark and from causing or inciting others to shout, swear or act in an intimidating fashion.
Should he break any of these conditions in the next two years, he risks a fine and time in prison.
Inspector Charlotte Ellam said: “We know how much of a detrimental impact ASB has on our communities, so we will always look to take action as a neighbourhood policing team against anyone involved in this.
“In this case, both we and the council have received numerous reports of Graham Watson’s bad behaviour, so we were pleased to be able to support them in ultimately securing this criminal behaviour order.
“With the CBO now making it a criminal offence for Watson to attend certain locations, drink out in public and act in a certain way, our hope is that this will stop his antics for good and provide the public with some respite.”
