SECURITY guards have been drafted in to police a bus station used by rough sleepers.

Passengers were left to stand and wait in the cold due to growing numbers of homeless people congregating in Southend Bus Station, in Chichester Road, to drink and smoke.

With complaints growing, Martin Terry, councillor responsible for public protection, waste and transport, demanded something was done or the bus station closed down.

Now security guards from a private company have been brought in to guard the shelter from 6am to 10pm Mr Terry said: “I told council officers was fed up with the situation. It’s gone on too long now.

“There is security there now and rough sleepers are moved on from a public safety perspective.

"There are uniformed guards there following complaints from people who use the bus station.”

The tough stance appears to have paid off.

Karen O’Shea, 46, of Newington Avenue, Southend, who gets the bus to and from work in Basildon, was one of the passengers to complain about drunk vagrants.

She said: “It’s definitely got a lot better. You can still see some of them sitting about outside but at least we get into the bus shelter now.

“The guards have made a big difference. They are there every morning when I go to work and in the evening when I return. I think they should be there permanently to be honest. If any members of the public have issues they are on hand to help.”

Teresa Everett, 57, who travels to work in Southend town centre from her home in Prittlewell each day has also noticed a big improvement.

She said: “There are no troublesome drunks in there any more and it smells a lot better.

“They used to lie on the benches and on the floor. You couldn’t sit in there because they were laying everywhere.

“It used to be terrible. They’d be drunk and taking selfies on mobile phones in the morning. There would be about 15 of them and people on the buses would complain about them.

“They had taken over the shelter. I’ve even seen nurses bringing them their prescriptions. Sometimes they would bring bags with stuff in and sometimes they would hand over paper prescriptions. Then you’d see them head off to Boots. It's so much better now.”

 

How the problem has grown

THE problem with rough sleepers taking shelter in Southend Bus Station has been growing for some time.

In August last year travellers complained homeless people were using the shelter to bed down for the night.

Councillor Martin Terry said at the time London boroughs were encouraging homeless people to come to Southend so they would no longer be responsible for them.

Councillors have recently blamed an increase in rough sleepers on the continuing stance of the London boroughs.

In September, a diabetic man was among 17 people found sleeping rough in the shelter even though it was supposed to be locked for the night.

The council’s tough approach to rough sleepers has recently seen groups living in tents on Southend cliffs moved on.

Council brings in private firm

SOUTHEND Council said the private security guards will police the town centre bus station during opening hours.

Winns Security, a specialist firm which provides security services for council buildings is monitoring the shelter from 6am to 10pm daily.

Broken locks on the shelter doors have been repaired and secured overnight.

Martin Terry, councillor for responsible public Protection, waste and transport, said: “We responded to concerns raised by people using the bus station and arranged for a security guard to be present there during opening hours.

“This has helped to reassure passengers, and deter rough sleepers from settling down there.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation and are currently considering extending this temporary trial for a few more weeks.”