Bedford says the problem is “disruptive for footfall” and is damaging the reputation of businesses on what is believed to be the city’s oldest street.
“I don’t know if the support is quite there for them to get help,” he adds.
Respect Orders could see frequent offenders ordered into drug, alcohol or anger management treatment programmes and those who breach these orders could face arrest and jail time.
Bedford’s bar is close to the bus station – an area that has proven a hotspot for ASB reports in recent years.
A short walk away, the Grade I listed Corn Exchange marks the starting point for Daisy Lyons’ ghost tours.
During her first year of running the tours, she says they have frequently been interrupted by intimidating behaviour.
“There was a group of lads who came and stole our tour guide’s glasses off his face and threw them on the floor,” she says.
Lyons says tour guides have also had to put up with hats being grabbed and signs repeatedly damaged or stolen.
Tour groups have also seen people urinating in the middle of pedestrianised areas.
From October, persistent ASB offenders will face being banned from town and city centres through the Respect Orders.
Lyons says the idea is “reassuring”, but may be a “scratch to the surface of a much deeper national problem”.
