Cyclist ‘pelted’ and police repeatedly called out to deal with anti-social behaviour on Claypole Bridge

Anti-social behaviour on a village bridge is a long-running problem that is affecting neighbours and has seen police officers called out on multiple occasions.

Officers were called to Claypole Bridge four times across two days last week alone — three were reports of anti-social behaviour and the fourth a crash involving a motorbike.

The bridge spans the River Witham and sits on the edge of the village of Claypole, and in the summer months attracts crowds of young people.

On Thursday, officers from the Grantham neighbourhood policing team were called just after 6pm, after reports that youths were throwing bottles into a neighbour’s garden and “throwing things” at vehicles.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said a man was spoken to and enquiries are ongoing.

The following day, police were called three times in the space of an hour and 20 minutes.

The first, at 3.12pm, was a report of anti-social behaviour which saw “a group of youths allegedly shouting and swearing on the bridge”.

A minute later a call was received about youngsters jumping into the river from the bridge. The police spokesperson said: “Officers attended and words of advice were given to the youths.”

Then at 4.31pm, a motorcyclist was involved in a crash near the bridge. Although police say they believe the incident was separate to earlier calls, a neighbour said the biker “crashed off the road into the verge whilst kids were playing on the bridge”.

She added: “Traumatic time at Claypole Bridge on Thursday and Friday evening. Same old same old situation.

“Anti-social kids swearing, being obnoxious, trespassing on to our property, throwing bottles of water into our garden — one just missing my granddaughter.

“Police called and responded pretty quickly, and I believe started taking names and addresses.

“We say again — parents of those involved be aware of what’s happening before a serious incident [happens].”

The neighbour, who has lived next to the bridge for 14 years, said the bad behaviour worsened two years ago after neighbours complained to the youths about their bad language.

“It just ballooned into full blown anti-social behaviour from then on,” she added.

A cyclist who lives in nearby Fernwood, and asked not to be named, was cycling over the bridge on Thursday evening when he was hit by something thrown from a youth on the bridge.

He said: “The little scumbags pelted something at me whilst on my bike going over the bridge – the girl on the left of the picture was the one doing the pelting. I can easily imagine something similar causing someone to swerve and crash.”

A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said the Grantham neighbourhood policing team receives “periodic reports” during summer months of young people on the bridge and jumping into the water.

They added: “Officers have attended on numerous occasions but in most cases, no offences have been committed and words of advice given in respect of road and water safety.

“Anti-social behaviour warning letters will be sent out to the parents of the young people involved and officers will pay passing attention to the area.”

The issue has been discussed at recent meetings of Claypole Parish Council.

Parish council chairman Stephen Jarman said: “The parish council are aware of the issues and we have engaged with the local community.

“We do empathise but as we told them at a previous meeting, it’s, for want of a better phrase, above our pay grade.”

Mr Jarman said he believes the county and district councils, alongside the authority responsible for the river, should be the ones to come up with a solution which removes access to the water.

However, a Lincolnshire County Council spokesperson said “addressing the behaviour” is preferable.

He said: “There are several items such as a pedestrian barriers, fences and vehicle restraints on the bridge which meet the requirements for a bridge of this size. In terms of putting in a footpath, this wouldn’t be possible on the bridge as it is and would require the installation of a new bridge as replacement which would be prohibitively expensive.

“In cases such as this it would appear that addressing the behaviour instead of alterations to existing bridge design may yield a faster improved outcome.

“As always, we remain open to any conversation that any Lincolnshire resident wants to have with us about issues around infrastructure in the county. The very best way to get this under way is to approach the local county councillor who can put ideas to planning for scrutiny and assessment.”