POLICE have confirmed that reports of crime and anti-social behaviour near Chester’s 24/7 homeless support hub have increased since it opened.

Hamilton House, run by council contractor forfutures, opened its doors on April 1 this year aimed at providing a base for agencies to link up and support people into accommodation.

Chief Inspector Carlos Brunes said that since February 1 Cheshire Police had received 98 calls from the public reporting issues in the Hamilton Place and Trinity Street area compared to 31 in the previous six months - more than triple the amount.

He said: “Over the past six months we have seen an increase in the number of incidents in the Hamilton House area.

“These calls relate to a variety of issues including concerns for safety, drug related activity and anti-social behaviour but it is important to note that some may be duplicate calls reporting the same issue.”

His comments come as homeless support charity Share announced it was temporarily pulling out of Hamilton House due to concerns for the safety of its volunteers.

It said that drug dealers were specifically targeting the service users which had had a negative impact on their behaviour.

Helen Anthony, of support group Soul Kitchen, also told The Standard that they had previously halted their service due to anti-social behaviour on their premises at Campbell Hall in Boughton.

Volunteers had noticed a “significant increase in the amount of drug activity taking place”, she said.

Helen added: “I believe that the drug situation in Chester is at an unprecedented high. The dealers are preying on the vulnerable and homeless. Services such as ourselves and Share are then having to deal with the desperate addict and not the person.

“It is terribly sad to see people whom we have all been helping, change with the increased amounts of drugs that are now available.”

Chief Inspector Brunes stressed the police and partner agencies were doing all they could to tackle the issue and sought to reassure residents and visitors.

He said: “We appreciate that this increase may be concerning but I want to reassure those who live, work and visit the city that we take any reports of this nature seriously and we are committed to doing all that we can to tackle them.

“As part of this ongoing work, a strategic group has been established with our partners and we are working together to address the issues raised and ensure that anyone who is in need of help has access to the services that they require.”

Cllr Richard Beacham, Cabinet Member for Housing, Regeneration and Growth at Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “We recognise there is an increased problem of drug use and anti-social behaviour in a small number of our street homeless community in Chester.

“The council is working together with our partners in order to solve these problems.

“Today [Monday, September 23] there was a joint strategic meeting including the police, Council, CH1 Bid and forfutures where we discussed these issues and are developing an immediate action plan to tackle the issues collectively.

“The services offered at Hamilton House will continue and are run by trained staff and the service remains open. We understand that the voluntary sector needs to consider the safety of their volunteers at Hamilton House and we respect their decision.

“We will continue to work together with Share and partners to improve the lives of people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.”