A SHOP owner is calling for police action in a “dangerous” area of Bournemouth town centre.
Michael Sollinger warns St Michael’s Road is “getting worse” with fights, drug dealing and other criminal activity.
It comes just days after two separate violent assaults in the area, which saw two men in their 30s rushed to hospital with injuries.
Michael, 41, owns ANJ Off Licence in St Michael’s Road, and used to live in the area himself, but moved away because he didn’t want to bring his children up there.
He told the Daily Echo: “I used to live here, but I couldn’t take it anymore.
“It’s too dangerous for children. There are fights in the street, drug dealing and it's noisy.
“One resident I know, she has two children, but she doesn’t feel its safe to let them go out at certain times.
“I’m ex-army, so nothing really phases me, but a lot of people are afraid.”
Michael has owned ANJ for 12 years and says that crime in the area has been a long-standing problem.
He said: “When I first took over the shop, people were selling drugs all down the road.
“It stopped, but over the last five to seven years it has started to get worse again.
“Us business owners, we’ve all had enough. How are we supposed to run a business in the area?”
The shop owner says he has given intel to police relating to criminal activity in St Michael’s Road, but feels “nothing is being done”.
He added: “The police need to do more. They don’t do anything with the information.
“The neighbours as a whole would like to see more active patrols and see police coming up and down the road like they do in Bournemouth town centre. You very rarely see the police round here."
A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "We fully appreciate that violent offences in public places have a significant impact on those who witness these incidents and residents living in the area and we are committed to investigating these matters to identify those reported to be involved and take robust action against them.
"Operation Nightjar aims to tackle violent behaviour and anti-social behaviour and over the festive period we have a detailed policing plan in place to ensure an increased presence around the town centre.
"We will continue to proactively focus on areas where incidents have been reported to us.
"We continue to work with partners in the night time economy to share information and intelligence and ensure our resources can be deployed in the most effective way."
Dorset Police added it was "determined to tackle knife crime in Bournemouth town centre".
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