Yesterday I witnessed an incident in Flemingate that frankly left me feeling very angry and also upset as a local man was bullied and intimidated.
It involved a contractor who was working on the new development at Flemingate and a local business owner with regard to a car that was parked where it should not have been.
With the number of people working on the construction site it is clear that residents are finding it very difficult to park and business owners are finding it hard to trade as work men leave their vehicles all day in the limited spaces.
Given this problem the people who operate the site Willmott Dixon have installed signs that clearly advise contractors they are not to park in certain areas. Despite these signs some still park there and yesterday afternoon this led to what I can only describe as a very unsavoury flash point in the middle of the street.
When it was pointed out by a trader to a contractor that they were not suppose to park there the trader was subjected to barrage of foul and abusive language and was then threatened. Matters were made worse as more contractors went out of there way crossing the road stand next to their mate as five men stood against one local trader.
I was so appalled by what I saw I went to the site office and reported the incident. I know these people have a job to do but they behaved like thugs and if this was to have happened in Beverley Town Centre on Saturday night the police would have stepped in and sorted it and most likely of banned them all from coming into Beverley.
After seeing all of this I went straight to the site office at the Flemingate Development to report the incident. I wanted the people at Willmott Dixon to know what some of their staff were doing and how they were engaging with their neighbours.
In fairness Willmott Dixon were quick to act, they went to see the business owner in question to give him assurances they would address things and do their best to ensure this never happened again.
I have decided not publish the photos of the incident or name the people involved in case those working on the Flemingate site decide to go back and seek retribution. After seeing how the small minded thugs gathered round I am not surprised that the person in question also has such concerns too.
Yes Paul you did right to report this incidence. I expect the contractors responsible for this where not local but out of town contractors.