SPITTING in the streets is becoming such a problem in Spalding that councillors are calling for a meeting with police.
Coun Gary Taylor said it was just one thing in a list of concerns that should be discussed, including drinking in the streets, underage drinking and dog fouling.
He told Spalding Town Forum: “There seems to be a group of people who think it’s OK to go around spitting.
“People see footballers on TV doing it and think it’s OK. But it’s a disgusting habit.”
Coun John Honnor said they should ask for a bye-law to stop drinking in the streets, but Coun Taylor said they did not need one, just enforcement.
Councillors asked why the police were not at the meeting to answer their questions but chairman Coun George Aley said they would not come unless they had been informed of specific questions to answer.
Coun Graham Dark said it was important the police attended the meeting.
He said: “I would like to know what is being done about drinking in the streets and if there is a problem with drug dealing.”
Coun Dave Ashby said: “You know what they are going to say – they haven’t enough manpower to deal with it all.”
It was suggested the town should consider introducing town wardens, like the ones employed in Boston to stop drinking in the streets.
Coun Roger Gambba-Jones said he had spoken to the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire ten years ago, who was totally against ‘private police’.
He said: “The chief constable said he would stop us if we tried to do it.
“But it works.”
Jason Rooke, president of Spalding and District Area Chamber of Commerce, said the ‘rangers’ in Boston had been there three years and got an immediate response.
But Coun Gambba-Jones thought they would be needed in Spalding for a lot longer to address the problems.
He said: “It would take a generation until it becomes a culture.”
Coun Aley said employing wardens should be something the forum gave serious thought to.
In the meantime, they would write to the police with a list of concerns and invite them to the next meeting.