BENCHES and phone boxes have been removed from an area of a town centre.

The decision has been taken by Wrexham Council after it was requested by the town centre multi agency, due to the area on Lord Street becoming a prominent area for anti-social behaviour in the town.

The council has said it will make a decision soon on where to relocate the benches.

In a statement on their website, Wrexham Council have said: “You may have noticed that the benches and bins by the Arc sculpture on Lord Street have been removed.

“This is in response to requests from the town centre multi agency group earlier this week for them to be taken away because of the anti-social behaviour, including drug dealing, taking place in the area and the negative impact this was having on Wrexham as a whole.”

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for the Environment and Transport said: “The anti-social behaviour that was taking place in this particular area was unacceptable and businesses and members of the public were right to complain.

“As soon as we received the request to move items, officers from Streetscene responded and removed the benches and bins. They will now be used in more appropriate areas of the town centre.”

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Partners, Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said: “I’m very grateful to Streetscene for reacting so quickly to this issue raised by businesses and visitors to the town centre.

“Police closely monitor the area with increased patrols, and we will continue with successful outreach work to address the underlying issues. At the same time those dealing drugs will be dealt with robustly.

“It’s vital we all continue to work together to respond to the issues in the town centre to ensure that Wrexham remains a safe place to be for everyone.”