Revellers criticised for ‘unwholesome’ weekend activities in Lerwick lanes

Weekend revellers who use Lerwick’s lanes as a public convenience during late-night boozing sessions came in for criticism on Tuesday.

Town councillor Gussie Angus said a long-standing issue with drinkers relieving themselves in public proved to be a continual headache for residents.

The lanes leading to Commercial Street needed regular hosing down on Saturday and Sunday mornings to prevent residents from having to trudge over the remains of the previous night’s excesses.

“There is still an issue with the lanes. Some citizens regularly behave in a particularly anti-social way in the lanes and it’s particularly bad at the weekends,” Mr Angus told members of the infrastructure committee.

He said it was impossible to pinpoint exactly who was responsible for the “unwholesome” activities, because revellers were coming “from far and wide” to drink in Lerwick.

He said the problem was not a reflection on the how council workers kept the streets and lanes clean, insisting it was an issue society had to deal with. “It’s not the fault of staff. It’s the fault of people carrying out these activities,” he said.

Mr Angus’ comments came as a report showed the vast majority of people were satisfied with the council’s street cleaning service.

The “Your Voice” Spring 2009 survey showed 94.54 per cent of people responding were either satisfied or very satisfied with their refuse collection. Up to 82 per cent said they had never had a missed bin collection.

The survey also found public toilets in the isles were regarded as being clean, although some were concerned about opening hours.

Almost 60 per cent of people said they wanted greater provision of litter and dog waste bins, and more recycling points were also called for.

Community council skips were also appreciated, although councillor Rick Nickerson said he was concerned some community skips were being used by private businesses.

SIC cleansing services manager Jonathan Emptage said the lanes would benefit from a high-pressure washer, which uses hot water, to deal with the problem in the lanes.