Councillor Keith Gregory made the controversial claim and calls for the authorities to get tough on public drug use
It’s like Night of the Living Dead in Wrexham town centre with an explosion of Black Mamba users wandering around like “zombies”, a prominent councillor claims.
Keith Gregory claims the low cost of the synthetic cannabis style drug in Wrexham is attracting users from Chester, Denbighshire and Ellesmere Port.
As a result “zombified” people are becoming a regular sight not only at the bus station, which came under the national spotlight, but but also in Lord Street and Holt Road.
The county councillor for Smithfield says he has spoken extensively to Black Mamba users who claim they come to Wrexham because the drug is cheap and they can get fed up to four times a day and get accommodation in night shelters, where other towns and cities have shut theirs.
Cllr Gregory also claims users say the chances of getting arrested in Wrexham are low but police chiefs insist they arrest people break the law or breach Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) which are in place in parts on the town centre.
But he believes more needs to be done to crackdown on the impact the drug is having, not just on the users but on locals and the reputation of Wrexham itself.
He said: “I have been into town every day this week and have seen people high on Mamba - or zombies as everybody else is calling them - down Lord Street, where I saw a group of about 10, near the Guildhall, Queens Square and on Holt Road.
“They are off their faces, sleeping standing up, lying down and out of it, or heads hanging down and totally gone.
“It is becoming like a zombie town, people are zombified all the time and walking round like it’s from the film Night Of The Living Dead”.
He called for the authorities to take action: “Everybody needs to come together, the social services, the health services, the council and the police. This a problem which is not going to go away, but its our town and we want our town back.”
But Sergeant Vic Powell said work was already underway: “Since January this year there have been more 40 arrests in Wrexham town centre in relation to the breach of public spaces protection orders and the use of new psychoactive substances and their associated intoxicants.
“Despite this figure our aim is also to work with agencies to support the community as a whole and to help those in crisis and who are in need of support services.
“The public can rest assured that North Wales Police will make arrests where necessary and will deal robustly with those responsible for supplying such substances.”
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wrexham-like-night-living-dead-12817709
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