RESIDENTS must report all crime – especially alcohol-related antisocial behaviour – or police coverage will remain low, councillors in a city ward have warned.

St Peter’s is not covered by a Public Space Protection Order, which would outlaw consuming alcohol in public, because related crime reported to 101 in the area is too low.

The parish has a problem with empty alcohol bottles and cans being strewn around and councillors believe the lack of police presence and a drinking ban is fuelling it.

Speaking at the parish’s annual meeting last week, Councillor Mike Johnson said police data does not support “an alcohol problem” because there’s “no reports of it”.

Councillor Alan Tidy, the outgoing council chairman, said: “It’s a Catch-22 – you’ve got to get worse to get better.

“You’ve got to show that you’ve got a rising curve of antisocial behaviour or crime before you get resources coming in. If you don’t report it, you won’t get the resources.”

County and city councillor Steve Mackay said it’s frustrating because during litter picks volunteers, including himself, are finding “vodka bottles, cans, Special Brew, all over the place”.

“Police don’t get the report, yet we know it’s happening – we know there’s a problem there,” he added.

Councillor Roger Knight said: "We shoot ourselves in the foot because we see these things happen, we don’t report them, therefore there’s no evidence that they ever happened in the first place."

Cllr Johnson said: “Both St Peter’s and a fair proportion of Warndon who did have PSPOs now no longer have got them.”

He said because of far more reports in the city centre, the orders have been ushered out of the parishes and other non-central areas.

Warndon Parish North city councillor Stephen Hodgson previously told us he had fought against the communities committee’s decision to remove Warndon Villages’ PSPO in July. This was based on a lack of reports between April 2012 to January 2018.