Man glassed in Colchester bar (From Gazette)

Disgusting behaviour. No longer are these animals able to fight with their bare fists. Smash a glass in his face & then call it quits.

"Silk road" again, someone needs to look at this premises inside and out.

"Glassed" - is a new word entering the English language?

A couple of months ago I contacted the Gazette to see if they would run a story on Bottle Stop. Bottle Stop was set up by the widow of Phil Sherriff who was attacked with a glass bottle back in April this year and sadly died 4 days later.
The Gazette didn't want to know because the story was not personal to me!
Jane Sherriff has gained over 75,000 signatures for the www.pop-campaign.co.
uk petition in 2-and-a-half months ... 105,050 have signed in total.
People are sick to death of reading these stories but whilst we continue to serve alcohol in a potential weapon we shouldn't be surprised. Unfortunately I think we have become so conditioned to these attacks that we see them as 'the norm'. Well it's not normal, it's horrific what a glass/glass bottle can do and if www.facebook.com/bot
tlestopnow get their wish then glasses/glass bottles will be banned in all late night city centre pubs and clubs.
These mindless acts of violence need to stop!

I have lived in Colchester for quite a few years. I'm scared to go out when it's dark. All the car parks are scary dark places with little or no security.We have no visible police presence and when I did venture out to the theatre last month and got a taxi from M&S the driver decided to take me home by a route that took twice as long as it should have so that frightened the life out of me.I'm beginning to hate this place. The Silk Road incident doesn't surprise me in the least.

Im_Like_HELLO wrote:
"Glassed" - is a new word entering the English language?

Sadly, it has been in use for years.

meadowlady wrote:
I have lived in Colchester for quite a few years. I'm scared to go out when it's dark. All the car parks are scary dark places with little or no security.We have no visible police presence and when I did venture out to the theatre last month and got a taxi from M&S the driver decided to take me home by a route that took twice as long as it should have so that frightened the life out of me.I'm beginning to hate this place. The Silk Road incident doesn't surprise me in the least.

Totally agree the whole town at night is ferrel and our local Police commander who is clearly after his next promotion says its safe . Well send your wife/ mother out for a pint of milk to the Spar around 11pm on a Thursday Friday Saturday night and tell me its not a no go area. Aggressive unwelcoming unfriendly Town Centre. Ever wonder why tourists no longer walk around at night

mirokou wrote:

meadowlady wrote:
I have lived in Colchester for quite a few years. I'm scared to go out when it's dark. All the car parks are scary dark places with little or no security.We have no visible police presence and when I did venture out to the theatre last month and got a taxi from M&S the driver decided to take me home by a route that took twice as long as it should have so that frightened the life out of me.I'm beginning to hate this place. The Silk Road incident doesn't surprise me in the least.

Totally agree the whole town at night is ferrel and our local Police commander who is clearly after his next promotion says its safe . Well send your wife/ mother out for a pint of milk to the Spar around 11pm on a Thursday Friday Saturday night and tell me its not a no go area. Aggressive unwelcoming unfriendly Town Centre. Ever wonder why tourists no longer walk around at night

What a load of sensationalist nonsense, Colchester as with every other town of this size has it's share of undesirables but yet again people are failing to take into account the thousands of people that go out in town each week without incident.

the Silk Road is a dive these days full of 2 bit wannabe gangsters and dossers.

mirokou wrote:

meadowlady wrote:
I have lived in Colchester for quite a few years. I'm scared to go out when it's dark. All the car parks are scary dark places with little or no security.We have no visible police presence and when I did venture out to the theatre last month and got a taxi from M&S the driver decided to take me home by a route that took twice as long as it should have so that frightened the life out of me.I'm beginning to hate this place. The Silk Road incident doesn't surprise me in the least.

Totally agree the whole town at night is ferrel and our local Police commander who is clearly after his next promotion says its safe . Well send your wife/ mother out for a pint of milk to the Spar around 11pm on a Thursday Friday Saturday night and tell me its not a no go area. Aggressive unwelcoming unfriendly Town Centre. Ever wonder why tourists no longer walk around at night

I know you´re going to disagree, but the town is not "feral" at night. It may not be pretty, but at the weekend, there will be several thousand people out and about, and 99.9% of those will have a good time. One glassing is too many, but it is a very rare event. Let´s not label every person who goes out in town at the weekend.

I´m old enough to know better, but quite often in town late at night / early morning, and in all honesty it´s less violent now than in the 70s! Maybe that´s because I´m older and not in the hot-spots, but seriously the town, on the whole, is pretty safe.

meadowlady, sorry that you felt intimidated. Seriously, if that is the case, go to one of the door staff. They might look unhelpful, but they will almost certainly be able to help out a bit, if only by being aware that you are there.

romantic wrote:

mirokou wrote:

meadowlady wrote:
I have lived in Colchester for quite a few years. I'm scared to go out when it's dark. All the car parks are scary dark places with little or no security.We have no visible police presence and when I did venture out to the theatre last month and got a taxi from M&S the driver decided to take me home by a route that took twice as long as it should have so that frightened the life out of me.I'm beginning to hate this place. The Silk Road incident doesn't surprise me in the least.

Totally agree the whole town at night is ferrel and our local Police commander who is clearly after his next promotion says its safe . Well send your wife/ mother out for a pint of milk to the Spar around 11pm on a Thursday Friday Saturday night and tell me its not a no go area. Aggressive unwelcoming unfriendly Town Centre. Ever wonder why tourists no longer walk around at night

I know you´re going to disagree, but the town is not "feral" at night. It may not be pretty, but at the weekend, there will be several thousand people out and about, and 99.9% of those will have a good time. One glassing is too many, but it is a very rare event. Let´s not label every person who goes out in town at the weekend.

I´m old enough to know better, but quite often in town late at night / early morning, and in all honesty it´s less violent now than in the 70s! Maybe that´s because I´m older and not in the hot-spots, but seriously the town, on the whole, is pretty safe.

meadowlady, sorry that you felt intimidated. Seriously, if that is the case, go to one of the door staff. They might look unhelpful, but they will almost certainly be able to help out a bit, if only by being aware that you are there.

I walk past so-called hotspots such as Queen St, St Botolphs St, High St and Head St, at various times between 10 pm and 4 am, and I have never felt threatened. Being an OAP, maybe I am invisible to troublemakers. I agree that that poor man being glassed was disgraceful, as was the murder of a teenager in Poets Corner only a few weeks ago, but you have to be very unlucky to become a victim.

In January 2006,Judge David Cooper
scathingly criticised Colchester's drunken and violent nightlife,saying that its streets are "diseased." Six years later what has changed?.Will the imminent election of an £85,000 a year police and crime commissioner make the town centre a safer place?.Probably not,
Here are seven reasons to stay well away from the town centre after dark and particularly in the early hours :

1.October 31,2012: A man was slashed and stabbed in the face with broken glass Silk Road,St Botolph's,
approx 12.30 am
2.September 15,2012 : A town centre
bar was peppered with bullets in a drive-by shooting in Queen Street,
Colchester. "Early hours."
3.August 31,2012 : Man with metal plate in his jaw after he was attacked
in St John's Street,Colchester,
11.50pm
4.September 6,2012 : Woman in her twenties,sexually assaulted in Vineyard Street,Colchester,3a
m-4am
5.August 26,2012 : Eighteen year old
knocked unconscious in Culver Street,Colchester/ one a.m
6.August 12,2012 : Man's right leg
shattered after "two or three men" jumped up and down on it until it snapped.High Street,Colchester,3 am
7.May 5,2012 : A man and a woman
glassed in " a serious pub brawl" at Yates's Wine Lodge,Head Street,
"about 10.30pm."


In September 2012,Colchester police chief,Chief Inspector Paul Wells ,
proudly announced: "Violent crime
in the town centre is down four per cent compared to the same period last year."

RB, Lexden wrote:
In January 2006,Judge David Cooper
scathingly criticised Colchester's drunken and violent nightlife,saying that its streets are "diseased." Six years later what has changed?.Will the imminent election of an £85,000 a year police and crime commissioner make the town centre a safer place?.Probably not,
Here are seven reasons to stay well away from the town centre after dark and particularly in the early hours :

1.October 31,2012: A man was slashed and stabbed in the face with broken glass Silk Road,St Botolph's,
approx 12.30 am
2.September 15,2012 : A town centre
bar was peppered with bullets in a drive-by shooting in Queen Street,
Colchester. "Early hours."
3.August 31,2012 : Man with metal plate in his jaw after he was attacked
in St John's Street,Colchester,
11.50pm
4.September 6,2012 : Woman in her twenties,sexually assaulted in Vineyard Street,Colchester,3a

m-4am
5.August 26,2012 : Eighteen year old
knocked unconscious in Culver Street,Colchester/ one a.m
6.August 12,2012 : Man's right leg
shattered after "two or three men" jumped up and down on it until it snapped.High Street,Colchester,3 am
7.May 5,2012 : A man and a woman
glassed in " a serious pub brawl" at Yates's Wine Lodge,Head Street,
"about 10.30pm."


In September 2012,Colchester police chief,Chief Inspector Paul Wells ,
proudly announced: "Violent crime
in the town centre is down four per cent compared to the same period last year."

Well that's bloody clever of him because in June, (I think), there was an article on this very website saying that there had been a 6.9% rise in late night violence in Colchester town centre over the past year and that they were no longer accepting new lincenses or extended ones to help the situation.
Me thinks Chief Inspector Wells should get his facts right!

And here's the opening paragraphs of that article posted on 7th June this year.

COLCHESTER’S pubs and clubs have agreed not to apply to stay open for longer until late-night violence drops.

The informal agreement with Essex Police comes as violent crime increased by 6.9 per cent in Colchester in the past year.

All members of Colchester Pub Watch have signed up to the deal, which includes most of the town centre pubs and clubs.

It means nightspots have pledged to temporarily stop asking Colchester Council for permanent later opening hours, as well as one-offs for special events, such as guest DJ appearances.

make sure you vote for, and keep, the new police commissioner on his toes.

As to the drive by shooting at Chicagos, it is a point of interest for when I do my guided tours of the town. I like to point out odd features of the town and the shotgun peppered bricks make a good story, especially as the muppets that did it missed their target completely. It makes a change from the puke.

meandthedog wrote:
Guided tours of interest, In Colchester town, LOL that must be good for about 5 minuets if you’re lucky. " hears the castle, inside is covered by the staff, and I suppose the rest would go something like over there is a drunk , and to the left is some dog poo , and ladies and gentlemen if you look to the right there is errrrrrrr some more dog poo. LOL !!!!!!!!!!

Crikey, the self-appointed king of Jaywick is back. Where have you been, Ian? We have missed you.

As the owner of Silk Road, after reading all these comments and the article that the Gazette printed I felt that I need to comment and put things straight.
First of all as usual the Gazette has over exagerated the facts of the incodent. I sometimes wonder where they get there information from?
They state that a man was stabbed and slashed in the face with broken glass, after watching the cctv footage it was clear that the man was hit in the face once by a calous person with the glass he was drinking out of. The two men obviously knew one another and their argument was clearly personal.
This, of course, by no means justifies this kind of behaviour, of which our venue has a zero tolerence policy in which the instigator of trouble such as this will be barred for life.
It is unfair of people to comment on the police being incompitent or that their presence is unseen, these acusations are completly uncalled for and untrue.
It is about time certain individuals noticed the work that has been put in by both the police and publicans to make this a safer town for people to go out in.
It definetly shows, in my opinion, looking at the rareity of incidents such as these, especially on Queen street that we have worked hard and close with the police to ensure that venues are safe in Colchester.
As far as Silk Road is concerned incidents are few and far between. I am personally getting sick of people's missinformed comments, whom I can confidently say are not clients of Silk Road.
Both victim and instigator of this incident are regulars in Silk Road and I feel confident that the victim would also confirm that he has always felt safe in my venue.
The door staff work tierlessly, with police support in order ensure the constant safety of Silk Road clients (as well as other venues in Colchester.)
It is unrealistic, however to expect door staff to be all seeing and all knowing. Even with 24 hour cctv, not even 32 camera's are capable of predicting the actions of certain individuals.

As someone who has commented previously, I just wanted to say ozzie1405 that whilst I understand that the Police and town centre establishments do as best a job they can it's a contradiction to say that violent crime has dropped by 4% in September when in June it was reported that it had risen 6.9%!
I am looking at this story purely from the glasses/glass bottle side and as you say whether it's reported rightly or wrongly the end result was the same, whether they knew each other or not it doesn't matter, continuing to serve alcohol in a glass/glass bottle is too easy a weapon when it's right there in your hand to use if you're that way inclined.
Nationally, there are 105 reported glassings a week ... 5,500 a year ... it costs around £184,000 per glassing that's excluding the police and court costs if the attacker is caught. One simple change could save lives, injuries, the NHS, police, courts and local councils thousands of pounds.
Colchester may not have a high 'glassing' problem but this country does and that is fact!
Prevention is better than cure because as you say, even with all those CCTV cameras and the door staff trying to keep everyone safe whilst inside a venue they cannot predict the actions of certain individuals but if PET bottles and polycarbonate glasses were used it would go a long way to helping them.

I have lived all over the UK, in just about every country it consists off and all their major town's/city's, Colchester is no worse than any other Southern town, But if you're not street wise or you're easily offended you're not gonna like it at night at the weekends, I my self have lived on and off in Colchester for the last 30 years and have never had any problems at all in the town, But like attracts like, go to town looking for trouble and you're gonna find it...

RB, Lexden wrote:
In January 2006,Judge David Cooper
scathingly criticised Colchester's drunken and violent nightlife,saying that its streets are "diseased." Six years later what has changed?.Will the imminent election of an £85,000 a year police and crime commissioner make the town centre a safer place?.Probably not,
Here are seven reasons to stay well away from the town centre after dark and particularly in the early hours :

1.October 31,2012: A man was slashed and stabbed in the face with broken glass Silk Road,St Botolph's,
approx 12.30 am
2.September 15,2012 : A town centre
bar was peppered with bullets in a drive-by shooting in Queen Street,
Colchester. "Early hours."
3.August 31,2012 : Man with metal plate in his jaw after he was attacked
in St John's Street,Colchester,
11.50pm
4.September 6,2012 : Woman in her twenties,sexually assaulted in Vineyard Street,Colchester,3a

m-4am
5.August 26,2012 : Eighteen year old
knocked unconscious in Culver Street,Colchester/ one a.m
6.August 12,2012 : Man's right leg
shattered after "two or three men" jumped up and down on it until it snapped.High Street,Colchester,3 am
7.May 5,2012 : A man and a woman
glassed in " a serious pub brawl" at Yates's Wine Lodge,Head Street,
"about 10.30pm."


In September 2012,Colchester police chief,Chief Inspector Paul Wells ,
proudly announced: "Violent crime
in the town centre is down four per cent compared to the same period last year."

If ones eyes deceive me the list above missed the murder of the lad at Poets Corner.
This year has seen the worst violence on record in the Borough.
We are turning into Slapper & Feral Town once again.
St Botolphs has never really been salubrious come on divisional commander otherwise there will be Vigilante groups on the streets anytime soon.
The towns become a Joke and a violent and dangerous one at that.

Those who are 16-24 and not in education, employment or training, need something to be proud of, need a sense of achievement, a sense of self worth, and a sense of direction. National Conscription would do all of these things. At the same time, they could learn a trade/skill like engineering. it would boost the numbers of the Reservists and the TA. So if anyone aged 16-24 who were a NEET - (not in education/employment
/training), then this would be the next option. If they are not qualified for Uni, then let the Services mold them. This would alleviate boredom, anti social behavior, the potential for riot, and would give our youth a much needed change of attitude and perception in the the community. It would be partly funded by redirecting their Jobseeker Allowance / ESA to cover some of the training costs.
If you agree with these sentiments go to: http://epetitions.di
rect.gov.uk/petition
s/37363 and sign the epetition - and make a difference in your own lifetime! Lets give our young people a future they can be proud of again!!!

We need to make sure our elected politicians listen to the voice of the people and make their mark on future generations by policies that shape each and everyone's future! I recently read copies of 1953 Boys Own Paper and on nearly very page there were adverts for joining the Army, Navy and RAF. Making a career, learning a trade and setting an example in a very broken society still rings true today. Sign the epetition - own it and spread the word - get it out there and get those signatures - just to get the politicians talking !!

meandthedog wrote:

Boris wrote:

meandthedog wrote:
Guided tours of interest, In Colchester town, LOL that must be good for about 5 minuets if you’re lucky. " hears the castle, inside is covered by the staff, and I suppose the rest would go something like over there is a drunk , and to the left is some dog poo , and ladies and gentlemen if you look to the right there is errrrrrrr some more dog poo. LOL !!!!!!!!!!

Crikey, the self-appointed king of Jaywick is back. Where have you been, Ian? We have missed you.

Boris , old chappy , you need to buy a new crystal ball , I am not an Ian or king of Jaywick , lets face it who would want to be king of that mess. I sagest you keep to the topic Boris instead of trying to start personnel arguments with people,, and for your information I am female and live in Holland on sea . OK !!!!!!!!!

Yeah come on Boris, Can't you tell this is the same jester that gave us the sharp wit and poor spelling under such aliases as:-

Jaywick Joe
Yellow Fiat
The Grinch
Fred the Shed

And other such witty names which now escape me. The same misuse of here and hear and the misspelling of suggest being the big give away.

I had a conversation with James Wills from the Gazette and he informs me there is little they can do to stop these nonsense posters creating multiple accounts and suggested the best thing to do was ignore them as they crave the attention that they are given each time they post rubbish here.