A Melksham cafe owner has been left devastated after a spate of anti-social behaviour, as police issue an arrest warning following reports of youth violence.
Evie’s Kitchen, a cafe in King George V Park, said it had suffered repeated damage over the summer, despite allowing young people to use its outdoor area as a safe space.
The cafe said tables and chairs had been broken, hanging baskets thrown over its patio and a young person had even thrown dirty underwear onto the outdoor seating area.
The latest incident saw someone light a fire on the cafe’s artificial turf, which the business said could not be repaired.
In a post on social media, the cafe owner said: “I’m feeling so deflated this morning because someone lit a fire on our AstroTurf, this can’t be fixed!”
The owner said young people had always been welcome to use the area, provided they treated it with respect.
The post said: “Since we’ve opened I’ve always made it clear to the kids of the town that they can use our area as a safe space as long as they look after it, which they have.”
However, the cafe said it had experienced repeated problems over the summer.
The owner wrote: “Sadly this summer we’ve had nothing but trouble, broken tables and chairs, our hanging baskets thrown over the patio, a lad even chucked his dirty pants on our patio!”
The owner said they had not yet checked who was responsible for starting the fire, but added that CCTV footage from incidents over the summer might now be used.
The post ended with a plea for the behaviour to stop, saying: “Give your heads a wobble please!”
Meanwhile, police have imposed a 48-hour dispersal order covering Melksham town centre and Queensway after receiving four reports of youth-related violence in quick succession on Saturday 24 October.
Officers said they believed further incidents were likely over the weekend, prompting the order.
The order gives police the power to temporarily exclude anyone suspected of being involved in disorder or anti-social behaviour from the designated area.
Anyone who returns after being ordered to leave faces arrest for breaching the order.
Police said anyone dealt with under the order would be given a map showing the boundaries of the dispersal area before being instructed to leave.
The order is due to remain in force until 2.45pm on Monday 26 October.
