A top North Yorkshire police inspector has insisted that he wants people to visit Richmondshire but has condemned the masses of young people that descended on a regional beauty spot when temperatures rose earlier this week.
Community inspector for the area, Martin Metcalfe, whose team have been behind patrolling Richmond Falls so far this summer, has issued an urgent warning to those that visit the tourist attraction – “enjoy it but with respect”.
The Falls, which is currently under a Public Spaces Protection Order, was inundated with young people on Monday (July 18) as temperatures reached 38 degrees in North Yorkshire.
Read more: North East heatwave: Shocking scenes at Richmond Falls in North Yorkshire
Teens were seen diving from the rocks and parts of the bridge into the shallow water, as well as drinking cans and bottles of booze, and inhaling balloons of nitrous oxide.
In the aftermath of Monday’s chaotic scenes, members of the public have taken to social media to condemn what they saw in person and on images uploaded to Facebook and Twitter showing the rubbish left at Richmond Falls.
In several pictures, a shopping trolley, crates of beers, blankets and items of clothing could be seen ditched on the pebbles at the North Yorkshire natural beauty spot.
Three days on from the scenes that resembled more of a nightclub than a family destination – inspector Metcalfe returned to Richmond Falls on Thursday (July 21) where he spoke to The Northern Echo about what is been done to curb the anti-social behaviour at the Falls.
Already, officers have confiscated 200 bottles and cans of alcohol from underage drinkers, arrested a teenager for a suspected assault, issued penalty notices to numerous cars and confiscated a large music system to crack down on criminality there.
Despite the large-scale response seen, the community inspector has admitted that he won’t be able to stamp down on what goes on at Richmond Falls 100 per cent.
What is the Public Spaces Protection Order that is in place at Richmond Falls?
It gives the council and police powers to seize alcohol and ask young people to leave the area. If they don’t comply, they may be arrested. The current order covers the whole of Richmond and is a vital power in combatting anti-social behaviour at Richmond Falls.
He said: “It’s such a large area with numerous entrances – and I can’t guarantee 100 per cent success – we want people to enjoy Richmondshire but what we won’t tolerate is the rubbish, drinking and disorder that we have experienced over the past few days.
“The last thing we want is people to get hurt, and people have been hurt here.
“My team and I will continue to be proactive and continue to do what we need to do.”
Despite this year’s scenes of disorder at Richmond Falls – this isn’t the first year that it has happened, according to North Yorkshire Police.
Alongside the rubbish and criminality, parking has been a large issue for police officers, with inspector Metcalfe telling The Northern Echo: “We’ve had to tow away cars because they’re blocking the road – we’ve had to seize big music systems.
“These people aren’t just here to have a good time, a little glass of wine with some quiet music – they’re here to get as drunk as possible and play loud music which puts others off visiting.”
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