A pensioner has joined calls to “clean up Perth” after witnessing a prostitute plying her trade during the day.
George McMillan was shocked to see a young woman engaged in sexual activity with a man just yards from one of the town’s main shopping streets.
The pair were being shielded by two drug addicts, one holding a hypodermic needle, he told The Courier. The 79-year-old had been making his way from Canal Street to South Street, using a busy walkway by the Tesco Metro store.
As he approached the end of the lane he became aware of “sinister-looking” shadows in a doorway but nothing prepared him for what he was about to see.
Mr McMillan, who has lived in Perth for nearly 40 years, believes the woman was offering sex in exchange for class A drugs. Astounded, he wrote to us to voice his concerns about the future of the so-called “Fair City.”
His experiences back up claims by other worried residents that Perth’s reputation as a top tourist destination could be left in tatters.
Mr McMillan called on Tayside Police to put more officers on the streets in a bid to drive away “undesirables.”
“How low is Perth going to get?” he asked. “It has always been a popular holiday destination, filled with nice shops, restaurants and other tourist attractions, and visitors don’t expect to be greeted by drug addicts and down-and-outs.
“I understand we cannot just get rid of these unfortunate people, most of whom need help, but it isn’t necessary to house them in the centre. I have seen a steep decline over the past couple of years and I think it is, in part, down to the fact there is little police presence.
“I was absolutely shocked to witness a woman in her 20s selling her services in exchange for drugs for all to see. She looked in a bad way and one of the men covering the doorway had a needle in his hand.
“It was definitely the worst thing I have ever set eyes on in the middle of the day.”
It is not the only anti-social incident the Kinnoull resident has seen recently.Begging for breadIn his letter to The Courier, he details how he was approached by a beggar in the middle of a large High Street chemist.
No security staff intervened when the man pressured him to hand over cash “for bread.”
Visits to the AK Bell Library and Greyfriars Cemetery both flagged up as “junkie hotspots” by other readers have also been unpleasant.
“I was approached right in the heart of Boots the other day,” Mr McMillan told us. “The man was so confident, I at first thought he must have known me but then he said he needed money for bread. This shouldn’t be happening in a shop where there are many CCTV cameras. I’m quite a tall man but for a woman this could all be very intimidating.
“We need more police out on patrol, like it used to be. I know, as a nation, we have a growing drugs problem but it isn’t doing any good having officers inside filling in forms. They need to be out stopping crime and moving beggars and drug addicts on.
“South Street is particularly bad. I believe it would make a big difference having two officers stationed there at key times.”
Speaking after council leader Ian Miller denied there was a serious problem, another said, “I live and work in the town centre and suggest that councillors and members of the public who don’t see the drunks and down-and-outs must completely avoid seeing what they don’t want to see.
“South Street some nights from 5pm is a no go zone.”