The police officer was still being polite, but his body language had changed from ‘wearily understanding’ several minutes before, and was now headed firmly towards ‘not funny anymore’.

It was 2am last Friday night and I was out with the police on ‘Operation Relentless’ as they checked Weston’s seafront bars and clubs for problems. We’d been asked to check a young man for drugs, but he was so drunk he couldn’t have dealt a hand of cards, let alone heroin.

The problem was that, when the police asked him to turn out his pockets, he’d decided he wanted to be strip searched. Seconds later, his shirt and trousers were off and he was down to his underpants in the middle of Oxford Street.

Then, with his trousers round his ankles, he decided he needed to sign something. Anything. He volunteered to sign the police officer’s report about the fire escapes. He tried to sign an arrest report, even though he hadn’t been arrested. In the end the police officer’s patience wore out, and he was charged with disorderly conduct.

Weston’s seafront promenade should be a safe, attractive place for local people and visitors to go for a stroll, have a drink or sip a coffee. But too many people are scared to go there after dark because of a drunken minority. Put simply, Weston needs a café culture, not a yob culture. 

That’s why Operation Relentless was so important, because it clamped down on poorly-run bars and clubs. But it won’t solve the problem on its own.

We need to encourage Weston’s seafront pubs and clubs to go upmarket, so there are fewer drinking dens and more restaurants or cafes. If we can change the character of our seafront parade, we can reclaim the streets for everyone.