A new police sergeant appointed to the town a month ago has already expressed his views on the subject to the town council. Sgt Tony Toynton has been on the beat to find out for himself just what sort of behaviour is tolerated and considers it falls far short of acceptable standards.

He reckons the night-time drinking culture which seems to have become the norm needs serious adjustment.

When people drink too much, as hardly needs emphasising, they are a danger to themselves and others. They are also much more inclined towards anti-social behaviour. This includes foul language which the sergeant reckons is not, and should not be, acceptable in a family town.

One idea he has floated is to issue fixed penalties of £80 – with the alternative being a day in court. That sounds a positive step to me.

Another initiative would be to bring all the pub landlords on side.

They have a responsibility for drunks on their premises and need to be more proactive. We do have a pubwatch scheme in the town but maybe it needs a shake up.

Reading between the lines, I think the sergeant is all for people enjoying themselves. But he won't tolerate peopIe breaking the law and getting away with it.

I had thought this problem, which can only get worse over the long summer evenings, was primarily a weekend malaise. Apparently not.

Talking to many people about the atmosphere in the town centre at times, I'm aware that it's become a no-go area for lots of them, particularly the elderly. How sad is that.

It's unlikely that the forces of law and order, limited as they are, can turn things round in a matter of weeks or months. But at least positive steps are being taken and we must all hope that the combined efforts of both full-time and part-time officers will have an effect.