City centre 'anti-social hotspot' of the country

MORE REPORTS IN CENTRAL NEWCASTLE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE INCLUDING CAPITAL

- By RICHARD AULT and SAM VOLPE

LAST year there were more reports of antisocial behaviour in Newcastle city centre than in anywhere else in the country.

That's according to new figures analysed by the Reach Data Unit and which show that the police received a staggering 2,517 reports of antisocial behaviour (ASB) in an area of the city centre stretching from Claremont Road and Exhibition Park to the Quayside. It equates to 231.9 per 1,000 people and is even more than is seen in central London.

There, the Strand, St James and Mayfair area - a tourist hub including Buckingham Palace - saw 2,300 reports.

Meanwhile elsewhere in the North East, Gateshead town - an area from covering the town centre and the southern bank of the Tyne - had 697 ASB offences in 2024. That's 86.9 per 1,000 people.

Further south, the Sunderland Central and Deptford area had 691 ASB reports (75.5 per 1,000 people), while Central Darlington and Pierrepoint had 592 (51.7 per 1,000 people.) Central Middlesbrough had 1,030 reports (80.2 per 1,000 people).