Dover’s new police chief says his officers will target the areas where they are most needed to deal with problems caused by alcohol and drug abuse.

And he plans to talk about it with people who work in the town.

But Chief Inspector Steve Barlow says people need to report all the incidents they see so that the police has a full picture of what is going on.

His comments came after an attack on the police and the district council on a social media site by catering manager Rob Wright who described what he encountered while walking to work one evening.

He said he witnessed a group dealing or using drugs outside the Stembrook toilets, piles of litter blowing around the Market Square, groups of “immigrants” drinking, shouting and throwing rubbish on the ground, and a beggar being abusive to those who didn’t hand over any money.

He said: “These people need to be stopped. The police need to take charge of this town and sort it out. Dover used to be a lovely place and now I actually believe people don’t want to come down this end of town because of these people.”

Other disgruntled residents soon joined in with stories about situations they had witnessed in the town.

Ch Insp Barlow told the Mercury: “Officers are working in the town centre to address problems that arise from excessive drinking and substance misuse.

“We will target our officers and staff at the times and locations they are most needed so it is important that all incidents are reported.

“We may not always be able to attend immediately, due to competing demands, but each call is logged and indicates where and when incidents occur so we can make the best use of resources to tackle and deter such nuisance behaviour.

“I have recently taken over the command of police in the Dover district and I shall be meeting with the business community. I understand the concerns expressed and those of the wider Dover community – we need to ensure that, above all, the town is one that those living or working in can be proud of."

A spokesman for the district council said: “Our contractor Veolia is committed to keeping the town centre clean and tidy, despite the problems caused by those who choose to drop litter, and although our contractor does not work after 10pm, they are required to have all town centres clean by 8am each day.

“The council continues to do all it can, working with partners and developers, to support and encourage regeneration projects across the whole district, and we are confident the coming months will see good progress towards achieving this aim.”

Among the action being taken is a course, organised by the Dover Partnership Against Crime, to show young people the problems drinking alcohol can cause them.

For full story see this week's Dover Mercury