Youths blight Portsmouth Rugby Club field with drinking, drugs and using it as toilet

Groups of up to 40 young people have caused problems at Portsmouth Rugby Club’s playing field.

Youths are taking advantage of the site in Norway Road, Hilsea as rugby is off-limits in the coronavirus pandemic.

The situation has seen Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt into reminding people of the importance of following government guidelines on social distancing.

Police were called on Saturday afternoon and evening following disturbances but were unable to attend after officers were ‘already committed to priority calls’.

Locals have rallied to clean up the rubbish left scattered across the field but want action taken to deter those blighting the place.

Sally Hall, 59, who lives nearby, said: ‘I’ve lived here for 30 years and there has never been the sort of problems there have been since lockdown.

‘On Saturday there were about 40 youths drinking alcohol and getting high all afternoon on gas canisters and cannabis before they started smashing things up. Quite a few of us called police but they didn’t attend.

‘On Sunday there was a group throwing bottles over a fence which were smashing on the road.

‘There’s been gatherings on other occasions too where bottles are smashed against the rugby posts and trees.

‘They use the field as a toilet - it’s horrible. It’s normally lovely and is used by the rugby club but because no-one is there it is being abused.’

Portsmouth City Council wardens patrol the area and clean up rubbish but Sally says residents have been forced to take matters into their own hands recently by cleaning up.

‘You have dog walkers, runners, children and people enjoying picnics who use the area so it’s not very nice for them. Some people are there barefoot - hopefully no one gets hurt because there is a lot of glass around,’ she said.

Police confirmed the area is part patrolled and added officers will ‘continue to engage with groups not following the government guidance’.

A spokesman, explaining why they were unable to attend on Saturday evening, said calls are risk-assessed before a deployment decision is made.

‘Weekends can see an increased demand, and at the time of the call on Saturday evening, all local units were already committed to priority calls,’ he said.

MP for the area, Ms Mordaunt, said: ‘The vast majority of people have been sensible, staying at home and not breaking social distancing advice. In each case the police have been made aware and have taken action to combat these hotspots.

‘As well as ensuring there isn’t anti-social behaviour this is also a public health issue because of the situation with Covid-19.’

Adrian Rozier, service manager for parks and open spaces at Portsmouth City Council, said: ‘Our grounds team did clear a significant amount of litter from the site after the weekend.

‘We continue to appeal to people to use our green spaces responsibly to avoid ruining them for others. We find this as frustrating as most of our residents do.’

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.