Residents of St Austell, Cornwall's largest town, have voiced their exasperation over open drug use and rising anti-social behaviour. Graphic images of heroin use shared on social media have prompted a petition calling for action, which has garnered over 6,000 signatures in a week. Shoppers and workers report frequent shoplifting and open drug use, with one retail worker describing 'shoplifters and drug addicts everywhere'. Extra police have been drafted in to address the situation.
Jodie Richards, 27, who started the petition after seeing people injecting drugs near her home, said: 'The town is in a terrible place and everyone is exasperated. Nobody is taking ownership of the issue.' A local shop worker recounted how her four-year-old son saw a man injecting himself in a churchyard, adding, 'Everyone is petrified. One hundred million percent it is getting worse.'
Local MP Steve Double has blamed Cornwall Council for housing a 'disproportionate' number of people with drug and alcohol addictions in St Austell. The council disputes this but has partnered with police and the Safer St Austell Partnership on a six-week programme to tackle the problems. The initiative includes additional beds for rough sleepers and outreach workers, though the council acknowledges services have been 'particularly stretched' during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The closure of the council's drug and alcohol action base 18 months ago, coupled with the pandemic's impact, has exacerbated the issue. During lockdown, rough sleepers with addictions were housed in holiday parks, but as resorts reopened, some were moved to towns like St Austell. The council says only four people were relocated, all into supported accommodation, but residents feel the underlying problems persist. The situation has also been linked to the failure of the £75m White River Place shopping centre to revitalise the town and recent job losses at the nearby Eden Project.
