Local council orders people to stop 'defecating' in the street
Residents of Sunderland, England, have been warned to stop “defecating and urinating” in the city centre.
In a vitriolic Facebook post which has since been deleted, the city’s Business Improvement District (BID) complained that there had been an increased amount of incidents in recent weeks.
The BID said the practice “will not be tolerated” and asked those who saw it to call the police on 101.
“Disappointingly we’ve seen an increase in people thinking it is absolutely acceptable to defecate or urinate in public in our city centre,” the BID post read.
“THIS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!
“Anyone who observes this behaviour should report it to Northumbria Police on 101.
“It is a Public Order offence at minimum and individuals will be charged!
“Help us keep our city centre clean.”
The BID later told the Newcastle Chronicle they had posted the Facebook appeal after a specific incident this week.
A spokesperson told the newspaper: "The BID's post was as a result of a very specific incident which occurred yesterday.
"The BID, the council and a whole host of other organisations are working together to make Sunderland a cleaner, safer place to visit so this kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable.
Commenters on the BID’s Facebook post agreed with that the situation was getting worse, with many sharing shop-owners stories of defecation near their stores.
One person, however, claimed the problem was being caused by the city centre's public toilets closing after 7pm, adding "people under the age of 18 are not allowed on the premises after 9pm".
But Sunderland BID replied: "Unfortunately this is not happening after 7pm and nor is it children."
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