By DANIEL MATTHEWS, US SENIOR SPORTS WRITER

Published: 14:43 BST, 14 September 2026 | Updated: 23:04 BST, 14 September 2026

ESPN is facing calls to axe John McEnroe after he controversially pleaded for Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to return to their best in wake of Alexander Zverev‘s US Open win.

Zverev sealed a second Grand Slam of the year with a four-set victory over home favorite Ben Shelton on Sunday.

The No 1 seed, whose service routine has sparked calls for a rule change, broke the hearts of a New York crowd who hoped Shelton would become the first American man to win a major since 2003.

But he was beaten 6-3 7-6 5-7 6-2 by Zverev and afterwards a clip went viral from ESPN’s coverage of the US Open final.

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‘So the drought continues but the rebirth of Sascha Zverev also continues into 2027 – Down Under awaits, huh?’ lead announcer Chris Fowler said, looking ahead to the Australian Open.

‘Get healthy Carlos and Jannik!’ responded McEnroe, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion who serves as an analyst alongside his brother Patrick.

This is how the commentary feed ended after the Zverev and Shelton US Open trophy ceremony.

“Get healthy Carlos and Jannik.”

“Please”

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😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/sUbWxJXQAa

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 13, 2026

John McEnroe is facing a backlash over his comments after Alexander Zverev’s US Open win

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Zverev sealed a second Grand Slam of the year with a four-set victory over Ben Shelton

Both Alcaraz and Sinner have battled injury issues over recent months, with world No 1 Sinner missing the US Open with a knee problem, while Alcaraz returned at Flushing Meadows after more than four months out with wrist damage.

But McEnroe’s comments sparked fury among some fans, who accused the tennis legend of being ‘unprofessional’ and ‘belittling the sport.’

‘Sorry, this should be the final straw for John McEnroe,’ one supporter wrote. ‘Unprofessional, belittling the sport and stealing the spotlight from the champion and runner up seconds after victory.’

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Another added: ‘McEnroe has to go. Carlos is healthy and he played, It’s not Zverev’s fault that Jannik’s knee doesn’t work. It’s his moment and he won fair and square… this is honestly pathetic.’

Others defended the 67-year-old, however, insisting his comments were part of a discussion looking forward to the 2027 season. ‘It’s exactly what most tennis fans are thinking,’ one said. 

It is not the first time that McEnroe has faced a backlash over comments he made at this US Open. He was earlier accused of being ‘disrespectful’ in the wake of Novak Djokovic’s first-round exit.

After Djokovic was beaten by world No 49 Mariano Navone, McEnroe joked that the Argentine would be ‘playing [his] second round on Court 21.’

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We carry a map of our bodies around in our brains. It’s not a literal picture, but an organised pattern of brain activity. So, touch different fingers and different parts of the brain respond. Remarkably, this arrangement is highly consistent from person to person.

Known as the somatopic map, where somato means “body” and topo means “place” in ancient Greek, this is one of the oldest and most recognisable ideas in neuroscience. But we still do not fully understand why the brain has a body map, or how important its precise organisation is.

A new study by my colleagues and I looks at whether the brain’s hand map changes after surgical repair of a nerve in the hand. We found that it does, which could have useful implications for rehabilitation.

Touch your thumb, index finger or little finger and each produces a pattern of activity in the part of the brain involved in our sense of touch: the primary somatosensory cortex, or S1. Neighbouring parts of the body tend to activate neighbouring parts of the brain. The orderly spatial arrangement that this creates is what we mean by a somatotopic map.

It dates back to the 1930s, when Canadian-American neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield stimulated different parts of the exposed brain during surgery. This showed that different locations corresponded to sensations in different parts of the body.

Similar body maps have been found across mammals and are considered one of the fundamental organisational features of the brain. We can look at the spatial pattern of brain activity produced when different fingers are touched. In our study, it is this organisation of finger responses that changes after surgery.

When a repaired nerve grows back

Peripheral nerves – the network connecting your brain and spinal cord to the rest of your body – have an extraordinary capacity to regenerate. If one of the major nerves supplying the hand is cut, surgeons can reconnect its severed ends. New nerve fibres can grow back into the hand, allowing sensation and movement to return.

But nerve regeneration is not precisely guided. The growing fibres don’t receive instructions telling them exactly where to reconnect. They can therefore take different paths and connect with different parts of the hand from those they supplied before the injury.

Communication between the hand and brain can be restored, but the information reaching the brain may no longer have exactly the same organisation. Someone might touch their index finger but feel the sensation in the middle finger.

We know from experiments involving monkeys that nerve repair alters the brain’s hand map, changing the usual arrangement of responses to different fingers. These findings became influential in thinking about rehabilitation in humans, with some theories proposing that recovery might involve restoring a more normal hand map.

We used functional MRI to map brain responses to each finger being touched in 21 people who had undergone surgical repair of one or more major hand nerves, and compared them with 30 people without nerve injuries.

In people with repaired nerves, the normal organisation of responses to the different fingers was altered and more variable from person to person. The pattern resembled the irregular maps previously observed in monkeys after nerve repair.

The altered maps were not simply the result of weaker responses to touch. Quite the opposite: touching the repaired hand produced unusually strong responses in the relevant brain area.

The map changes could partly reflect how the regenerating nerves have reconnected in the hand. We didn’t directly measure those connections, however, and the unusually strong brain responses suggest that changes within the brain itself are also involved.

What does an altered map mean?

We still do not fully understand how the precise organisation of somatotopic maps contributes to perception and behaviour. Nerve repair gives a rare opportunity to study what happens when the normal relationship between the body and the brain changes.

We found that the map can change, but we did not find a clear relationship between the extent of that change and how well people could use their hands. People with more altered maps were not reliably worse at localising touch, nor did they show greater impairment on broader measures of hand function. That finding challenges a simple assumption: that a more “normal” brain map must necessarily be a more functional one.

Successful recovery may not require the brain to recreate its original map. Instead, the nervous system may learn to make effective use of a new relationship between the hand and brain.

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That could also be important for rehabilitation. Recovery after serious nerve injuries is often incomplete, with people experiencing lasting problems with sensation, movement or pain. Understanding how the brain adapts as a nerve regrows, and why recovery varies, will require following people from surgery through nerve regrowth and rehabilitation, tracking brain maps alongside behaviour and how the peripheral nerves reconnect.

That could ultimately tell us two things: how changes in the brain relate to recovery after nerve injury, and something more fundamental about the brain itself. For all the history and importance of the body’s maps in neuroscience, we still do not know exactly what their detailed organisation is for. By seeing what happens when that organisation changes, we may have a powerful way to investigate that question.

He has previously admitted five counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, six counts of assault by penetration and one count of sharing intimate photos or film.

He has now pleaded guilty to a further 45 charges, bringing the total to 60.

The further charges include 16 counts of rape, nine counts of assault by penetration, eight counts of other sexual offences, seven counts of sexual assault, four counts of attempted rape and one count of administering a substance with intent.

The man cannot be identified because this would risk revealing the identity of the victim, who has lifelong anonymity.

Charges include offences involving drugging, rape, sexual assault, assault by penetration, attempted rape and sharing intimate photos or film against his wife.

Assistant Chief Constable Rick Jackson said: “Our focus remains on supporting the victim of this horrific campaign of abuse through what is a very complex investigation.

“Specialist support continues to be provided to the victim at the centre of this case.

“If you are concerned you or someone you know may be affected by drug-facilitated sexual abuse, please know that you do not need proof, certainty, or a clear memory to be taken seriously.”

Police said they expect to make further arrests in the ‘coming weeks’

Two people have suffered serious injuries after reports of “violent disorder” in a Cambridgeshire town. Cambridgeshire Police was called to The Broadway in St Ives on the evening of August 29.

Officers received reports of “violence and criminal damage” in the town centre. Two men were taken to hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries.

Since the incident, police have arrested six people, with further arrests expected in the coming weeks. The people arrested were:

• A 19-year-old man from Hartford on suspicion of a public order offence;
• A 19-year-old man from St Ives on suspicion of a public order offence;
• A 20-year-old man from Huntingdon on suspicion of a public order offence and possession of drugs;
• A 29-year-old woman from Wyton on suspicion of a public order offence;
• A 19-year-old man from Whittlesey on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.

They have all been bailed pending further enquiries. A sixth man, from Chatteris, was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence. He was released without charge.

Detective Inspector Luke Pedlar, who is leading the investigation, said: “Violence and disorder of this nature has no place in our communities and we know this incident will have caused concern among residents, businesses and visitors in St Ives.

“Our investigation has progressed quickly and we have already made a number of arrests, with further enquiries ongoing. We are committed to identifying everyone involved and ensuring they are held accountable for their actions.

“I would like to thank the community for their support so far and continue to urge anyone with information, footage or who witnessed the disorder to come forward and speak to us.”

But the backlash against Macklemore only grew louder, and included a petition by the Israeli-American Council urging Sheeran to remove him from the tour.

“This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” the council said, adding that the rapper used “biased messaging and disputed claims.”

In his statement on Instagram, which was nearly 1,000 words long, Macklemore said that after a week of “difficult conversations” with Sheeran, that ultimately ended “in a place of fundamental disagreement”, he was dropped from the lineup.

Tour promoter, Messina Touring Group, told Rolling Stone magazine that it had been told by venues that they would not allow Macklemore to perform, “which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.”

American businessman Robert Kraft, who owns the Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, said he banned Macklemore because the venue would not “provide a platform for hate speech,” accusing the rapper of “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric”.

“I agree with Macklemore, too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering, but only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate,” Kraft said.

In his statement, Macklemore said he empathised with the difficult position Sheeran was in, but criticised the English singer for not taking a stance.

“Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed,” he wrote.

He also addressed the accusations of antisemitism, writing that “one of the most effective ways to enforce silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism”.

Macklemore added: “When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying “Free Palestine” gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn’t protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.”

But he emphasised that even though he only did two shows on the tour, if his words succeeded in “turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”

Met Office meteorologists have warned Brits to expect heavy bursts of rain and the possibility of hailstorms as unsettled weather threatens to hit up to 42 counties

Britain is set for a soggy and unsettled Tuesday as a huge band of rain sweeps south, with some areas facing heavy downpours and even the odd hailstorm.

Met Office meteorologists say western Scotland and Northern Ireland will see frequent showers, while parts of northern England, Wales, the Midlands and southwest England could wake up to rain.

Up to 42 counties could see unsettled weather over the coming hours, with major cities including Oxford, Nottingham and Manchester in the firing line.

The weather front will push south through the morning before mostly fading, but showers will continue across Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A Met Office meteorologist said: “That’ll bring some heavy bursts of rain coming into northern Scotland, some heavy bursts of rain, and you might even be woken up by the odd hailstorm as it moves through.”

Rain will also spread into East Anglia and the southeast, although it is expected to largely weaken as it moves across the region.

One or two heavier showers could develop during the afternoon, but they are expected to be hit and miss, with sunshine returning across much of England and Wales.

Lancashire and Cumbria are also likely to see showers feeding in on a northwesterly breeze, while Scotland remains unsettled.

Rain will clear Kent quickly during Tuesday evening, but showers will continue to feed in from the north as the winds pick up.

The cold front will bring a noticeably fresher feel, with temperatures struggling to reach 20C or 21C in some areas, and other parts staying in the teens.

The Met Office said the brisk wind will make it feel cooler, while the air will also be less humid.

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In the coming days, Brits have been warned conditions will stay “changeable” with “showers or longer spells of rain, interspersed with some drier and brighter spells.”

This will be followed by occasional rain or showers pushing in from the North Atlantic – most frequently across northern and western parts of the UK – and accompanied by strong winds at times.

The Met Office says there will also be some reasonably dry and more settled periods in between these systems, especially across southern areas.

Counties set for rain on Tuesday

• Cheshire
• Staffordshire
• Derbyshire
• Nottinghamshire
• Yorkshire
• Lincolnshire
• Lancashire
• Gloucestershire
• Oxfordshire
• Warwickshire
• Northamptonshire
• Flintshire
• Denbighshire
• Montgomeryshire
• Shropshire
• Radnorshire
• Breconshire
• Hertfordshire
• Monmouthshire
• Glamorgan
• Cardiganshire
• Carmarthenshire
• Westmorland
• Cumberland
• East Lothian
• Berwickshire
• Roxburghshire
• Aberdeenshire
• Angus
• Inverness-shire
• Ross-shire and Cromartyshire
• Argyllshire
• Kincardineshire
• Banffshire
• Morayshire
• Nairnshire
• Buteshire
• Perthshire
• Stirlingshire
• Dunbarton
• Renfrewshire
• Lanarkshire

Cllr Katie Lomas spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) and answered Press readers’ questions before the council sets its budget for 2027/8 in the new year.

How is the council ensuring money raised through a second home premium on council tax is helping people struggling to afford homes in York?

Cllr Lomas said the 100 per cent council tax premium on second homes introduced in April 2025 was helping to fund efforts to help people with expensive living costs in York.

She added it came alongside the council’s aim for all homes on its sites to be affordable.

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The executive member said: “We charge the premium on second homes because we think it’s the right thing to do.

“If people choose to have a second home they should contribute more to help those struggling to afford to live here.

“Receipts from the premium and council tax generally goes into our budgets which is spent on areas including housing and supporting the homeless, along with all the other services the council delivers.”

What’s happening with the York Outer Ring Road, Haxby Station projects and the £34 million Station Gateway overspend?

Cllr Lomas said progress was set to be made on the York Outer Ring Road scheme despite the almost £100 million funding gap it faced as of last year.

She added she understood frustration about the more than £34 million overspend on the regeneration of the front of York Station which has sparked political rows and calls for an explanation.

Cllr Lomas said: “When we took over the York Outer Ring Road project we immediately recognised that the money we had wasn’t enough.

“Funding has been delivered for that project but we’ve had to break it down into phased work.

“We’re about to deliver the first phase of improvements that will pave the way for further work as we secure funding to do that.

“That further work is important for residents, visitors and commuters, so we’re hopeful we can look at other sources of funding such as the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.

The overspend on the Station Gateway scheme now stands at more than £34m (Image: City of York Council)

“Haxby Station isn’t being led by the council, it’s led by Network Rail, but we’re working with them on the infrastructure while they progress with the design work.

“Station Gateway continues to be one of our more problematic projects, the contract the council inherited made us liable for extra costs.

“It wasn’t designed in a way that we would have but the contract was signed when we took over so we have to got on and deliver it in the best way we could.

“Once the project got underway we found additional things like an underground water tank that it cost money to deal with.

“We asked for an independent audit and the findings of that were helpful, we’ve brought in project management staff and we’ve worked to complete it as fast as we can.

“We’ve also been living through economically turbulent times and inflation in construction has consistently been running much higher than has been generally, so many of these projects are costing more especially when you’re working in a complicated place that has surprises waiting for us.”

What do you think about proposals for a visitor levy?

Cllr Lomas was asked about a visitor levy, or tourist tax as a study commissioned by York and North Yorkshire mayor David Skaith found a £1-a-night charge could raise £26m.

Cllr Lomas said: “The visitor levy will be hugely important for York and North Yorkshire, although we don’t know the details of what it will look like yet.

“We have an enormous visitor economy thanks to our beautiful, interesting city which people want to come and see but it costs money to provide services for them, keep our streets clean and do projects that provide transport for them.

“A levy on tourists could be used to fund these things, improve the places that people visit and relieve a bit of the financial pressure on councils for providing services visitors use.

“York must be one of the few places that has its own in-house stone mason working for the council to look after the city walls.

“The burden is falling on people who live to pay, it’s right that people who visit contribute to help keep York so nice.”

The series marks the second of Norton’s novels to be adapted for television and sees the Lostock-born actress take the lead role of Carol Crottie.

Originally set in a small Irish town, the story has been relocated to Northumberland for its television adaptation. Amy stars as Carol, a divorcee living with her new partner whose life is thrown into turmoil as long-buried secrets begin to surface.

Undated Handout Photo from Forever Home. Pictured: Amy Nuttall as Carol Crottie and Kevin Whately as Silent Dave. See PA Feature SHOWBIZ TV Forever Home WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ TV Forever Home. PA Photo. Picture credit should read: Helen Williams/ Channel 5 NOTE TO EDITORS: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature SHOWBIZ TV Forever Home (Image: Helen Williams)

Speaking about the drama on BBC Breakfast, Amy said the scripts kept her hooked from the start.

She said: “There’s something for everyone in this. When I got the scripts, I literally would be on my own and I’d get to the end of each episode and let out audible gasps because I couldn’t believe what I’d just read and I wanted to share it with someone.

(Image: Helen Williams/ Channel 5)

“On one page I’d be crying and really moved and the next page I’d be laughing out loud. And at the same time I was just so desperate to know what was going to happen next.”

Amy stars alongside The Revenge Club actor Douglas Henshall as Carol’s partner Robert Barrie, Emmerdale star Lewis Cope as his son Kaden and Heartstopper actress Jenny Walser as his daughter Sally.

The 44-year-old grew up in Lostock and attended Bury Grammar School before going on to become one of Bolton’s most successful television stars.

(Image: PA)

She first found fame as Chloe Atkinson in ITV’s Emmerdale, appearing in the role between 2000 and 2005.

Amy’s late mother, Elaine Nuttall, was well known on Bolton’s amateur dramatics scene and for her work as an artist and seemingly Amy followed in her footsteps.

Amy has performed at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre, including in A Streetcar Named Desire, before finding success on television.

STAR: Amy Nuttall at The Octagon Theatre where she will be appearing as Hermione in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale

In recognition of her achievements, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree by the University of Bolton in 2011.

Over the years, Amy has appeared in a string of popular television dramas, including Downton Abbey, Hotel Babylon, The Musketeers, Death in Paradise, Liar, All Creatures Great & Small, The Chemistry of Death, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Silent Witness and The Feud.

Most recently, she appeared in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, playing the adult Jane Butterfield.

Away from television, Amy has also enjoyed a successful stage and music career. At the age of 17, she became the youngest actress to understudy and perform the lead role of Christine in the national tour of The Phantom of the Opera.

Her theatre credits include My Fair Lady, Cabaret, Boeing-Boeing, Spamalot, Noises Off and The Hired Man at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre.

As a singer, she has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and Old Trafford. She also won an edition of Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes as Sarah Brightman.

In 2005, Amy released the classical album Best Days, which reached number four in the UK classical chart and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2006 Classic BRIT Awards.

Following the death of her mother, she also recorded the song Thank You Mother, written by John Hurley, to help raise awareness of brain tumours through The Brain Tumour Charity.

US President Donald Trump has implied he won’t offer Lindsay Clancy a pardon after her trial ended in a hung jury.

The Massachusetts mother, 36, was on trial for the January 2023 killings of her three children: Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months.

After six weeks, 35 hours of deliberation, and over 80 witnesses, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision and declared a mistrial.

Her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, had made the plea to Trump to consider a pardon, claiming one juror was unable to be swayed towards a not-guilty verdict.

‘It’s a very sad situation,’ Trump told reporters Sunday, according to the New York Post. ‘I certainly heard that, but look, it’s very sad.

‘There is no winner there. There’s no win no matter what you do. Three children are dead.’

However, despite the defence lawyer’s initial comments on Good Morning America, a pardon is not something Trump is able to offer in this case.

The Clancy trial is ‘actually a state situation, not a federal’ so the US President does not have legal authority to grant a pardon.

On CBS Boston, Reddington shared: ‘If President Trump feels that this is a case that warrants that type of intervention from the executive branch, if you will — even though, legally, it’s not a federal case — he certainly has an awful lot of clout.

‘I think any type of help that we can get is helpful.’

Trump noted he believed Reddington to be ‘a very good attorney’ and said he ‘hopes [those involved in the case] can work something out’.

Clancy has not denied that she killed her children by strangulation before attempting to take her own life, which has left her paralysed from the waist down.

Her defence has instead claimed she was in a state of postpartum psychosis when the crimes took place, and therefore was not criminally responsible for her actions.

Symptoms of postpartum psychosis — which is treated as a medical emergency — include insomnia, delusions, hallucinations, severe confusion, and dangerous thoughts regarding self-harm, suicide, or harming the infant.

She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but the prosecution has argued that while she was suffering from depression, she still made a calculated decision to kill her children.

They also alleged that Clancy deliberately sent her ex-husband and father of her children, Patrick Clancy, out on an errand at the time of the killings so that she was free to commit the crimes.

Before the mistrial, Trump said the case was  ‘hard not to follow’ and called it a ‘horrible tragedy’.

‘Look, she did a horrible, horrible thing. Can’t be worse, but you’ll find out what the price to pay is. But I guess they gotta go through another trial. It’s too bad,’ he concluded.

It’s not known if the case will be tried again, with Clancy facing years in a state-run hospital should she be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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Beaches such as those at Helen’s Bay and Ballyholme have seen major incidents this year

Elected representatives from Ards and North Down Borough Council are calling for new powers to tackle antisocial behaviour at beaches in the summer.

North Down beaches have picked up a reputation, fairly or unfairly, of being hotspots for anti-social behavior during spells of warm weather in recent years. Controversies have centered around large crowds, underage drinking, drug use, fighting and intimidation, littering and transport disruptions.

This year Ballyholme bleach became the centre of attention again for large scale violence involving youths with weapons, and recent years have seen Crawfordsburn and Helen’s Bay the focus of negative attention. Helen’s Bay saw three men seriously assaulted during the busy May Bank Holiday weekend in a suspected race hate crime.

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At a recent Ards and North Down Borough Council committee meeting, elected representatives approved a DUP motion calling on the Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long for action on anti-social behaviour legislation, more police officers for the borough, the reopening of Bangor custody suite and the rejection of any increasing of the age of criminal responsibility.

On a vote 10 councillors supported the motion, and one voted against, from the SDLP, with five absent. The decision will go to the full council meeting later this month, where it is expected to pass.

The motion, presented by DUP Councillor Alistair Cathcart to the council’s Active and Healthy Communities Committee, states: “This council condemns recent anti-social behaviour witnessed in Bangor and the North Down coast and commits to reviewing our own resources, as well as working with relevant agencies to tackle this problem.

“While grateful for police action taken, this council recognises that the officers need additional powers to tackle anti-social behaviour and expresses disappointment that the Justice Minister has ruled out passing relevant legislation during this Assembly mandate.”

Councillor Cathcart told the chamber: “We all want to see good weather, unfortunately when we do see it, sometimes in Bangor and other seaside destinations here, we become a destination for those who want to undertake underage drinking, antisocial behaviour and other illegal activities.

“Some of the images from the summer were unacceptable and have done reputational harm. I thank all those involved in action to tackle antisocial behaviour on our seafronts, police officers, Translink staff, our community safety officers, street pastors, YMCA, and all the voluntary agencies involved.”

He said: “ It is not an easy task as trouble can occur all along our coasts. This happened at Seapark, all the way down to Ballyholme, it covers such a vast area and it is hard to predict exactly where it might happen. But we are being hampered in regards to our efforts against ASB in North Down by inaction and inertia by the Justice Minister to resource the police and to give the additional powers they have been calling for to really tackle the issue.

“The Minister is well aware that the legislation around ASB has to change, her own department has published a consultation on amending antisocial behaviour, where 97 percent of respondents felt that more needs to be done to improve legislation.

“This closed two and a half years ago, and the Minister’s current response, that it remains her intention to bring forward legislation in the next assembly mandate, is kicking the can down the road. There were two bills that ASB legislation could have been attached to in this mandate.”

He said: “There are no real powers to seize alcohol in public, police can seize alcohol from those who are under 18, but only if it is on clear display, they cannot search bags or seize alcohol if it has been placed in a Fanta bottle for example. So it is easy to get around.”

He added: “Often the ASB we see is a result of the gathering of large crowds. English police have the benefit of powers to break up these gatherings and help de-escalate situations.” He said the Justice department was also “kicking the can” on these powers.

The councillor said: “We simply don’t have enough police on our streets to address the seafront during the busy summer period. It is interesting to note that when we saw trouble at Crawfordsburn Country Park this summer, officers were employed from other areas with drones and dogs, and trouble fizzled away quite quickly. It shows if we have the level of support, we can be on top of it.”

He said local officers privately told him the reopening of Bangor Custody suite was required to allow officers to do their job “in a timely and efficient manner.” He added the council had to expand its CCTV coverage.

Alliance Councillor Victoria Moore told the chamber: “The Alliance Party appears to be living rent-free in our chamber-colleague’s heads. The Minister has only ruled out the legislation in this mandate, including the powers to seize alcohol, and that is nothing unique to the Justice Ministry, that is reflected across the entire Executive, who are trying to prioritise legislation, and bring things forward.”

She said: “There is still a question over who would enforce any new powers, and not all councils support taking on that responsibility. The Minister and the Chief Constable have already developed a plan to increase police numbers. That plan has been agreed by the Executive, but the additional funding required has not yet been approved.”

She proposed the council write to the Chief Constable regarding the reopening of Bangor Custody Suite and police numbers, as they were “policing operational matters.” She said “to raise the age of criminal responsibility would support the prevention of offending behaviours.”

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