NEIGHBOURS fear they will be forced to move out if a former Bridport nightclub reopens attracting vandals and drunks.

The announcement that De Vinchies in West Bay Road will be re-launched as the Salt Yard has been greeted with a mixture of delight and horror this week.

Some residents are concerned a nightclub would create noise, vandalism, and parking problems.

Others have welcomed the move and say anything is better than an empty building.

It is not yet confirmed if it will reopen as a nightclub, although company directors Dominic Knorpel and Mick Catmull are publicising it as licensed premises with a ‘variety of potential revenue streams’.

Meadowlands residents David Powell, 76, and wife Elizabeth, 66, fear they will be forced to move.

Mr Powell said their fence is used as a place to urinate and the panels have been kicked in.

“Everything in sight will be vandalised. We’ve got a nice playground there for kids and brand new toilets. It will be a general nuisance for the area,” he said.

A couple living in Meadowlands, who did not wish to be named, said they never had any problems when De Vinchies was open.

The wife said: “You get the occasional bottle thrown in your garden but it’s better to have it here than in the town where it’s disturbing a lot more people.”

Her husband said: “As long as it’s properly managed and it’s not a place where people can get drugs, I don’t see a problem.”

A resident of The Chalets, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s mostly retired people here and it’s really not the place to have a nightclub.”

Textile artist Sue Wootton, 58, hopes to get a job in the Salt Yard. She said: “I think whatever it is, it’s good that it’s going to be something rather than just empty because it’s a bit of an eyesore.”