Anti-social behaviour between Bristol and Taunton

[Parallel]

Does anyone know the extent of the anti-social behaviour occurring on trains and at stations between Taunton and Bristol?

A friend of mine said a group of teenagers got on a CrossCountry at Taunton recently and were trying to steal people’s luggage/threatening staff and passengers and trying to start fights. The British Transport Police were called but did not attend.

Bridgwater station was also heavily vandalised in April. Supposedly this group are based there, from speaking to staff.

This seems to have been going on for a long time judging by the dates of some articles. The safety of passengers should be paramount. Is enough being done to protect the public using these services/stations?

Passengers first spotted the smashed windows on the evening of April 1 and subsequently discovered extensive damage on the morning of April 2.

The railway station, which is Grade II listed, was completed in 1841 and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The British Transport Police said: "Officers were called to Bridgwater railway station at around 11.15pm last night (1 April) following reports of criminal damage at the station."

Teenager arrested over smashed windows at Bridgwater Station

Windows at Bridgwater Train Station have been smashed, causing damage to the historic buildings.

www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk

 

[Revilo]

Bridgwater and Highbridge & Burnham have a reputation for anti-social behaviour, non-payment of fares etc.

Apparently, drug dealers provide direct supplies from Bristol, making the station a hotspot for trouble. Both towns (though not Burnham) are very socially deprived, especially for Somerset.

I have personally experienced feral youths on the train, including stealing items from First Class, though not being threatening to passengers. Bridgwater is a beautiful station, not that long restored, and it's heartbreaking to hear it’s been damaged.

 

[StarCrossing]

Sounds pretty bad.

I experienced some pretty awful behaviour in 2005, from a group of teens who boarded at Weston and were throwing glass bottles around. Haven't noticed any issues in the 20 years since.

 

[occone]

Agree with the previous posters; Bridgwater is a very rough town with lots of deprivation, despite some regeneration it's not unsurprising to see trouble here. Though I've not had trouble when using this line.

BTP should have attended for reports of luggage theft and threatening anyone.

Up north, on at least one main station towards Manchester the police have done some drug searches with police dogs. Sounds like some drug dogs in the west country could be useful. Though Bristol is so full of drugs the dogs would be going off constantly

 

[bramling]

Agree with the previous posters; Bridgwater is a very rough town with lots of deprivation, despite some regeneration it's not unsurprising to see trouble here. Though I've not had trouble when using this line.

BTP should have attended for reports of luggage theft and threatening anyone.

Up north, on at least one main station towards Manchester the police have done some drug searches with police dogs. Sounds like some drug dogs in the west country could be useful. Though Bristol is so full of drugs the dogs would be going off constantly

Gosh the above is a pretty depressing post, though sadly it is what it is.

Bank holiday weekends seem to bring trouble. I gather there was some kind of punch-up at Hitchin station on Saturday. That isn’t somewhere that’s normally known for trouble.

 

[Ashley Hill]

The recent group of teenagers are alao well known in town centres such as Weston-super-Mare. Also breaking into IET buffets is another allegation that’s been made against them.

 

[Krokodil]

Bank holiday weekends seem to bring trouble

So does sunny weather

 

[occone]

Gosh the above is a pretty depressing post, though sadly it is what it is.

The recent group of teenagers are alao well known in town centres

Yeah, it's depressing but remember it really is only a very few number of people doing this and in my experience and as Ashley Hill says, are all known by name of officers.

It does show that in society it takes everyone to play their part.

 

[brad465]

Bridgwater station is very easy to get into: no barriers and spends most of the day unstaffed, which combined with the wider town culture makes it an easy target. Can't speak for Highbridge & Burnham as I don't use it but I suspect similar exists there. Taunton station on the other hand is very well staffed and is locked for the night after the last services (when the sleeper runs someone is on duty to open gates specifically for relevant passengers).

Gosh the above is a pretty depressing post, though sadly it is what it is.

Bank holiday weekends seem to bring trouble. I gather there was some kind of punch-up at Hitchin station on Saturday. That isn’t somewhere that’s normally known for trouble.

Reminds of the troublesome Godalming gang several years ago who terrorised passengers and staff on trains in the area; Godalming is a relatively affluent area, but still not immune to troublemakers.

 

[Peter0124]

Weston-super-Nightmare as they say

 

[Dr Hoo]

On a visit to Bridgwater a few years ago I alighted from the train to see a couple of drug addicts ‘shooting up’ in a doorway on the station.

The town was a dump, with the walk from the (potentially) nice station to the centre depressing.

I have made a point of not making any further visits.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Bridgwater station is very easy to get into: no barriers and spends most of the day unstaffed,

Booking office open in the mornings. Security staff in evenings.

 

[brad465]

Booking office open in the mornings. Security staff in evenings.

I said "most", not "all".

 

[Krokodil]

I have made a point of not making any further visits.

Didn’t Queen Victoria used to draw the curtains when passing through? I can't remember what the town had done to offend her

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Passed through Bridgwater Sta (at speed) today - windows all boarded up sadly. Is CCTV the answer?

 

[dk1]

The recent group of teenagers are alao well known in town centres such as Weston-super-Mare. Also breaking into IET buffets is another allegation that’s been made against them.

Do you mean IET kitchens?

 

[bleeder4]

Bridgwater has been growing rapidly. The number of new houses that have been built there recently is staggering. Every time I pass that way there is another load that have sprung up. Inevitably, as a town grows, the increased population does bring with it a few ne'er-do-wells.

 

[Russel]

What does the BTP actually do?

Every time something like this comes up, the standard response is that the BTP are under resourced and can't be everywhere, but it seems that they aren't actually anywhere?

 

[Ashley Hill]

Do you mean IET kitchens?

Kitchens and trolley stores.

 

[Krokodil]

What does the BTP actually do?

Every time something like this comes up, the standard response is that the BTP are under resourced and can't be everywhere, but it seems that they aren't actually anywhere?

Investigate, arrest (which apparently they have done in the case of the Bridgwater teenager), interview and charge.

 

[cambsy]

I use this line a bit, and not had any problems myself, but not surprised if it does see anti social behaviour, with Bristol and its well known rough areas and drug problems. I have delivered around Bridgwater and never had problems, but like anywhere else there will be some feral youths about, who have no respect for authority or anyone.

 

[bramling]

What does the BTP actually do?

Every time something like this comes up, the standard response is that the BTP are under resourced and can't be everywhere, but it seems that they aren't actually anywhere?

BTP are quite variable, some are really good, others are less effective.

What doesn’t help is they are the standard go-to for a massive amount of issues, so simple reality is they can’t be everywhere.

It’s also probably the case that they’re being called to a lot more stuff nowadays compared to a generation ago, without their own numbers having been increased accordingly. Unfortunately there’s a *lot* more anti-social, drunk or just abusive behaviour going on now, and at the same time railway staff are less willing to try and deal with it themselves for various reasons.

 

[contrex]

Didn’t Queen Victoria used to draw the curtains when passing through? I can't remember what the town had done to offend her

Anti-royalist since Cromwell's time, I think.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2025 ==

Bristol and its well known rough areas and drug problems.

Not just Bristol. En route from Salisbury to Stapleton Road (direct!), I had to endure a dozen or so drunk football fans from Warminster to Bath. Very very loud, singing (bawling!) obscene songs about Westbury's football team, among other things. A rendition of the Engineer's Song (hadn't heard that for decades). I rather gathered they weren't from a 'rough area'. More the hooray-Henry type. The on-board staff prudently hid themselves away.

 

[The exile]

Didn’t Queen Victoria used to draw the curtains when passing through? I can't remember what the town had done to offend her

The same is said of Bath.

 

[contrex]

The same is said of Bath.

Another Parliament stronghold in the Civil War. Also she is supposed to have drawn her curtains to avoid seeing Newcastle, and the Black Country (sometimes specificallly Dudley, sometimes not). Of course, these may all be urban legends - she may have had the blinds pulled down whenever going through ANY built-up area, simply for common or garden privacy.

 

[Gloster]

Another Parliament stronghold in the Civil War. Also she is supposed to have drawn her curtains to avoid seeing Newcastle, and the Black Country (sometimes specificallly Dudley, sometimes not). Of course, these may all be urban legends - she may have had the blinds pulled down whenever going through ANY built-up area, simply for common or garden privacy.

She was the queen: her privacy would most definitely not be common.

 

[LMS 4F]

What does the BTP actually do?

Every time something like this comes up, the standard response is that the BTP are under resourced and can't be everywhere, but it seems that they aren't actually anywhere?

They are based at large stations and therefore often a long way from where incidents occur. In my experience it has been this way for a long while. In my time with West Yorks Police I attended many railway incidents including a death, an attempt to derail a train and several other lesser matters.
Some were taken over later by the BTP but the death was dealt with by us all the way to the inquest.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Bridgwater has been growing rapidly. The number of new houses that have been built there recently is staggering. Every time I pass that way there is another load that have sprung up. Inevitably, as a town grows, the increased population does bring with it a few ne'er-do-wells.

I lived in Taunton up until 20 years ago, and coincidentally happened to visit this weekend for the first time since moving away. Bridgwater (along with Highbridge) was known as a bit rough back then so I don't think you can put it all down to the new arrivals.
Taunton itself has also grown, and I did notice more graffiti around than I remember. Though I only visited the station area, the town centre and the residential area I used to live in.

BTP are quite variable, some are really good, others are less effective.

What doesn’t help is they are the standard go-to for a massive amount of issues, so simple reality is they can’t be everywhere.

It’s also probably the case that they’re being called to a lot more stuff nowadays compared to a generation ago, without their own numbers having been increased accordingly. Unfortunately there’s a *lot* more anti-social, drunk or just abusive behaviour going on now, and at the same time railway staff are less willing to try and deal with it themselves for various reasons.

In my experience the BTP are great at investigating things after the fact, but spread far too thinly to do much in the way of crime prevention or to catch people "in the act" unless they get lucky. There could be a case made for the regular police forces to have a Railways division who could support the BTP, but you'd probably still have the same problems of coverage but on a slightly smaller scale. The regular police have their own issues with coverage and lack of personnel anyway.

 

[Quincy]

What does the BTP actually do?

Stand around in a group chatting near the gateline from what I’ve seen

 

[stj]

Pity Trains cant be as secure as an Aircraft but there are often issues with flights from Bristol too!