POLICE in Wellington have not had any reports of youths entering or attempting to enter the derelict Tonedale Mill in Wellington following an accident last month in which a schoolgirl was seriously injured after falling through one of the buildings.

Sergeant Dan Bishop told the latest meeting of Wellington Town Council that police had increased patrols in the area and that security officers were now on site at the mill. He added that police had contacted neighbours and it was hoped doing so would increase reporting of any incidents.

He said: “Wellington police team warned young people and their parents via social media and the local press in the week/ten days leading up to the accident about the dangers of entering the site and the possible consequences. This is a situation and a location we will very much continue to monitor going forward.”

Sgt Bishop said problems he reported at last month’s meeting about alcohol-related anti-social behaviour in the town centre, involving noise, bad language and general conduct had now reduced. Police officers, along with the police licensing practitioner for the area, had visited The Vintage pub in Fore Street, which had been fully co-operative at a ‘positive’ meeting.

Sgt Bishop said: “They voluntarily put in place additional measures which immediatley reduced reports of alcohol-related ASB.” These measures included reducing opening hours and closing earlier, restricting admission to under-21s to certain times and preventing customers leaving the rear of the premises next to Duke’s Court after 9pm.

He added: “The Wellington police team have also increased patrols within the town centre to ensure disruption caused to local residents is kept to an absolute minimum.”

Sgt Bishop told the meeting reports of youth anti-social behaviour had been very low over the last four weeks and that police were continuing to patrol areas where it was a problem.

He said reports of breaches of Covid-19 rules had been ‘very few and far between’. Police responded to any breaches by attempting to ‘explain, engage and encourage’ people to do the right thing, which had proved successful.

The number of reported crimes was similar to last month with 74 recorded in the previous four weeks. The number of vehicle offences had increased with thefts of tools from vans early in the month but police had responded with a social media campaign and by putting warning notices to owners on vehicles.

Police officers had just had their first day in the Pop-Up Shop as part of a community engagement exercise, and Sgt Bishop said the response from the public had been ‘brilliant’.

Cllr Mark Lithgow asked if there had been an increase in domestic violence reports during the Covid-19 lockdown. Sgt Bishop said that when he or his team attend domestic incidents, a risk assessment is carried out and shared with internal and external partners to bring matters to their attention.

Dr Joanne O’Hara, the heritage at risk officer at Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT), told the meeting, after Sgt Bishop’s report, that the council was doing what it could to ensure Tonedale Mill’s owners made the site safer.

She told councillors the relationship between the site owners and the council had improved. She said SWT had issued a number of legal planning notices to the owners obliging them to address the issues raised within a certain timeframe. If this was not met a more serious legal notice would be issued.