GANGS of alcoholics and drug addicts are greeting visitors at the ‘gateway to Weymouth’.

Police today pledged to clamp down on antisocial behaviour including drug abusers and alcoholics who are plaguing Weymouth railway station.

Business owners and residents say the police regularly move on people who are hanging around outside the station but that the problem does not go away.

Paul Farwell, landlord of The Railway Tavern, said: “When the council redid the roads here they told us this was going to be the gateway to Weymouth. “But the first thing you see is a bunch of winos, beggars and social outcasts.”

When the Echo visited the area during the daytime a number of people were witnessed drinking in the station and on the steps outside and a man was using drugs in one of the phone boxes.

The station has been forced to close its public toilet because of ‘persistent abuse’ according to a sign on the door.

A member of staff at the station, who didn’t want to be named, said: “We’ve had issues with groups of drug users for a while now and recently it’s been so bad that we’ve had to shut our toilets.”

Weymouth cab drivers who pay £285 a year for a licence to use the station rank, including access to the toilets, say this will cause an issue for them as well as railway passengers.

One driver said: “It’s affecting our business because people don’t want to come through here and get a load of abuse.”

Jackie Prior, a member of staff at The Railway Tavern, said: “It’s every single day. On Monday the police were called out five times. “They come out and move people on but they just come right back when the officers are gone.”

Marcus Baldaro, a sales assistant at Discretion, said: “It’s not inviting for visitors and with the Olympics next year it doesn’t give the best impression. “I’ve reported it a few times when I’ve seen people shouting abuse.”

Ash Jarman, whose family runs the Queens Hotel, said: “One of our windows was put through, which is rare, but unless something is done it will only get worse.”

Resident Freddie Chapman, 22, said: “We get a lot of idiots around here and it doesn’t look good when people come in off the trains. “It’s not a nice area. There was a fight a few days ago and there were people with blood all over their faces.”

A South West Trains spokesperson said: “We’re extremely angry at recent unacceptable anti-social behaviour by gangs of men and women loitering at the station. “This has been reported to the Dorset Police and the British Transport Police, and we are working with them to try to stamp out this problem.

“To protect our passengers and staff from some of the disgraceful behaviour, we have been forced to temporarily close the station toilets. We will continue to provide access to the disabled toilet, which rail passengers can use by speaking to a member of station staff. Alternatively, passengers can use the on-train toilets during their journey.

Community safety spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council Geoff Petherick said: “We are working closely with the police to see what else can be done to improve the situation by reducing anti-social behaviour and by making sure that vulnerable people congregating around the station are aware that support agencies dealing with alcohol and drug use are available to them.”