A group of 7 were given ASBOs at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court on Tuesday (20 August, 2013), along with 2 others who appeared at an earlier hearing, after being found guilty of 474 incidents in the past 5 years.
Paul Loffke, of no fixed abode, Lee Cooper, of Central Drive, Coseley, Lisa Hayden, of no fixed abode, Franklin Duberry, of Rudge Avenue, Wolverhampton, Jamie Dyke, of no fixed abode, and Stephen Harper, of no fixed abode, were banned from entering the city centre on any day of the week apart from between 12pm and 3pm for the next 3 years.
Three others, James Freeman, of William Bentley Court, Louise Shaw, of William Bentley Court, and Peter Allatt, who is currently in prison, were banned all day on Sundays as well. All 9 were prohibited from having open containers of alcohol anywhere in Wolverhampton.
Councillor Elias Mattu, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Leisure and Communities, welcomed the imposition of the ASBOs.
And he said Wolverhampton's Anti-Social Behaviour Team - a joint partnership between Wolverhampton City Council and Wolverhampton Homes which led on the case - wouldn't hesitate to seek similar orders for other individuals who were behaving in an anti-social manner.
He said: "The city council is determined to do all it can to make Wolverhampton city centre a welcoming, attractive and safe place to visit.
"These individuals were causing alarm, distress and harassment to people visiting and working in the city centre through their drunkenness, intimidating behaviour and foul and abusive language.
"This is clearly not acceptable and this action goes to show that the council and its partners will not stand for disruptive behaviour of this nature - and we will not hesitate to tackle the problem again in the future."
Chief Inspector Darren Walsh of West Midlands Police said: "This is a fantastic result meaning that the public can continue to live, work and shop in Wolverhampton city centre without the fear of intimidation or distress from these 9 individuals.
"By working closely with our partners we are continuing to crack down on anti-social behaviour across the city and our officers who are out and about in the city centre will tackle any anti-social behaviour from these 9 people or anybody else."
Councillor Mattu added: "I'd like to echo the comments of District Judge Wilkinson who publically thanked officers from the Wolverhampton Anti-Social Behaviour Team, the city council, the police and other partners who worked so hard to bring about this successful outcome."
- released: Thursday 22 August, 2013