THE behaviour of drunken yobs is holding Haltwhistle back in the town’s bid to become a tourism hotspot.

That’s the view of traders who say noise and disruption – sometimes during daylight hours – are driving visitors away.

Postmaster Phil Johnson, of the town’s post office on Main Street, says offenders urinate in an alleyway close to his premises, and have even been known to spit on the shop window and cash machine.

Mr Johnson spoke out at Haltwhistle’s annual town meeting on Tuesday, which was attended by about 50 people.

He said: “The problem is drunken behaviour in Haltwhistle. It is appalling behaviour.

“If I were a visitor, I would be getting in my car and wouldn’t be coming back.

“The main issue is not scaring people away from Haltwhistle, but all of the good work we are putting in is being undone by the drinking culture in this town.

“There is no other place I’ve seen where people are staggering out of pubs on a Sunday afternoon, swearing and shouting.

“We don’t feel safe in our own homes. There’s drunken behaviour at night and on a Sunday afternoon at around 5pm on repeated occasions.”

Mr Johnson admitted he felt embarrassed when relatives came to visit recently.

He added: “There’s disgusting behaviour. People weeing down the alley, spitting at the window, or down the ATM.”

Mr Johnson was backed up by John Bakewell, of Harvey’s Shoe Shop, on Westgate.

Mr Bakewell said: “It’s as if they are unaware that residents are living there.

“I often hear it in the early hours of the morning, around 1.15am.

“The noise level goes up, and some of the youngsters, I guess, are under-age. The noise is unbearable. It wakes me up.”

Walter Eals, steward of the Comrades Club in Haltwhistle, said: “We don’t stay open late, and if I think someone has had enough to drink, I won’t serve them.”

Nevertheless, traders believe the situation does nothing to support an ongoing tourism drive in Haltwhistle.

In March, town councillor Cath Hedley teamed up with Haltwhistle Tourism Association and Haltwhistle Chamber of Trade to launch new glossy leaflets promoting the town.

The campaign is aiming to tackle a long-standing problem of encouraging those who visit Hadrian’s Wall to come into Haltwhistle.

Councillors are also working with Northumberland National Park to ensure Haltwhistle benefits from the Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre.

The new £14.8m attraction is set to bring 100,000 visitors per year to the area when it opens at Once Brewed, near Bardon Mill, in August 2017.

Speaking on Wednesday, Insp. Kevin Oates said: “I would encourage people to report incidents of this nature at the time they are happening.

“If we receive a report, we can dispatch officers who can attend and deal with an incident accordingly.

“We have excellent policing cover in Haltwhistle.

“Officers have a wide area to cover, however, so it’s important that the public make us aware of something which is happening in the town centre or elsewhere.”

Insp. Oates said residents who have complaints over noise issues should also speak to the county council’s environmental health department.

He also said licensees, as well as drinkers themselves, had a duty of responsibility.