FRESH fears have been ignited over the risk of antisocial behaviour in Wellington park after Somerset Council proposed leaving the gates open day and night.

At present the gates to Wellington park are opened in the morning and closed in the evening. But as part of proposed cost saving measures the gates of the park, along with those of Vivary park in Taunton and Blenheim Gardens in Minehead, will remain open around the clock.

The council said the measure would contribute £15,000 toward filling the £100,000,000 black hole in their budget, which is threatening to bankrupt the authority.

The proposal was met with concern by Wellington's mayor, Marcus Barr, who said the town council would have to consider taking responsibility for manning the gates. He said:

"It is really important that we keep the park secure at night. This is clearly something the town council is going to have to look at picking up responsibility for.

"We all know the history of problems with young people in particular and antisocial behaviour the has been going on from time to time in the park after dark.

"The police have been working really hard to tackle the issue and it has not been so bad recently as a result.

"But if it is now going to be left open all night for anybody to wander in I can see we could very quickly have terrible problems on our hands with people missing the park for all sorts of reasons.

"The park is a real jewel in the crown of Wellington and it is much loved and it costs enough as it is to maintain it and keep it looking good so it is disappointing that for the sake of a comparatively small amount of money Somerset Council wants to abandon it."