AGGRESSIVE street drinkers are making life hell for businesses owners in Colchester’s Crouch Street and firms have now declared: “Enough is enough.”

Retailers have also criticised the responses they have received from Essex Police and Colchester Council.

In the last few weeks, shop staff say they have witnessed a violent assault, racist abuse as well as dozens of public order offences, including threatening drunken behaviour and aggressive begging.

Among the victims have been mums with young babies, a schoolboy, shop staff and vulnerable older people who regularly use the bus stop at the corner of Crouch Street and Balkerne Hill, Colchester.

Businesses have been given a mobile number to ring each time there is an incident involving aggressive behaviour but in the seven times it has been used by firms, the number has gone straight to voicemail.

Retailers say the situation has become worse since homeless charity Beacon House moved into the street, in July.

The Christian charity specialises in helping people who are dependent on alcohol or drugs and offers IT services for house and job searching. 

Bosses there have offered an olive branch to the firms.

Colchester Council boss Mark Cory has also issued an emotional vow to help the firms. 

Sam Richfield, who runs the Vapers Lounge, in Crouch Street, said: “The whole thing has got out of hand.

“We’ve had people smashing at our windows, threatening us, stealing from charity shops, swearing at us and generally just being vile.

“When you challenge them, it only goes one way; they get aggressive and it all kicks off.

“You call the police and you get nothing; you call the council and you get nothing.

“We feel like they don’t care about us.

“They say the public space protection order [in place to stop aggressive and threatening behaviour in the town centre] is helping and we might see some change for a day or two and then we’re back to where they were.

“I have had a man come and sit on my tables outside and scream abuse at people going past.

“I just thought: ‘People are going to think he’s my customer,’ so I went outside and lifted the chair with him in it. He ended up sitting outside the shop just shouting and swearing at me and whoever was walking past.

“It’s unbelievable; I’ve had them threaten me, I’ve seen them threaten people just walking past and I’ve seen them assault each other but nothing gets done.”

Tanya Readhead, who works in nearby sandwich shop Bon Appetite, also said she had been threatened by men in the group after she challenged them on why they were emptying their pockets onto a number of brand new cars which belong to an estate agency.

The 25-year-old added: “This is every day, every single day. When I challenged them, I came back to the shop and they were screaming at me.

“A man who said he worked for the police then came to me and told me shut the shop because the man had got a load of his friends to come over.

“Sure enough, there they were but they never came near the shop.

“The police aren’t interested in this street. You call and nothing happens.” Liz Kyne, who works in fashion shop No. 27, said: “It is a nightmare. Honestly the only reason we feel anyway safe here is because of the lads across the way in the kebab shop and Sam next door.

“It’s at the point now where it’s sometimes scary to be at work.”

She added: “We came back from lunch the other day and they were outside and we said to each other: ‘That’s our day over.’

“We had one woman come in who had no interest in buying anything, she just wanted to get away from outside.

“If we’re feeling that way, our customers are feeling that way.”

She added: “A lot of the time they are outside Qube and the bus stop at the end of the road and there are families waiting there for the bus and the behaviour is just absolutely terrible.”

Paul Stephens, who runs coffee and beer shop Two Brews, said he had stopped reporting incidents to the police because of a lack of action, most recently after a violent assault.

He said: “I called the police as this was going on. It was a couple kicking and punching another man who was on the ground.

“Two PCSOs came sprinting along, saw it and and physically stopped these two people mid-attack.

“Within a few minutes, the same two people were walking back up the road sneering at the police. They weren’t even arrested.

“What does that say? It tells them it’s all right to do that because there are no consequences.”

Mr Stephens also said he witnessed first-hand an aggressive street drinker being ordered to leave the town centre for 24 hours by a police officer only to see the man return within 30 minutes and abuse a family.

Mr Stephens said the man remained in Crouch Street for the rest of the day.