Law-abiding couples would rather stay at home than run the gauntlet of binge drinkers in Southend, Tory parliamentary hopeful James Duddridge said today.
Mr Duddridge, who hopes to be elected as Sir Teddy Taylor's successor in Rochford and Southend East, said: "I am all in favour of people having a good time and having a drink but all too often we are creating not a cafe culture but a yob culture."
Mr Duddridge said Home Office statistics had revealed a big increase in the number of offences of violence against the person in Southend and Rochford.
Planned new Conservative policies would allow local councils more control over hours of opening and the number of late-night licences granted within a small area, he added.
Published Wednesday August 18, 2004
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