XL Bully owner whose banned pet bit off eight-year-old's thumb in savage attack is jailed
Caio Shaw told a court 'I thought I was going to die' as the powerful dog subjected him to the terrifying ordeal last August.
His mother had taken him Ian Parry's house in Caernarfon, Gwynedd en route to a birthday party.
As Caio and a friend were preparing to go inside, his grandmother Yvette Hodgson said the dog appeared, looking 'focused' on the youngster, and leapt towards his face, a court heard today.
Ms Hodgson fell to the floor and tried to shield her grandson but said there was a 'crunching' sound from his hand.
Owner Parry got a knife from the house and stabbed the dog to the chest.
But the pet bit Mrs Hodgson's forehead before it was stabbed a second time, while Caio was left covered in blood.
Police and ambulance crews were called, and despite being stabbed the dog was still alive when they arrived.
Caio Shaw, eight, was horrifically mauled and had his right thumb bitten off when he was attacked by a prohibited XL bully dog in Caernarfon, Gwynedd last August
'The decision was made to dispatch the dog with a single shot to the head,' prosecutor Richard Edwards told Caernarfon Crown Court
Caio was taken to hospital at Bangor and then, due to the severity of his injuries, transferred 90 miles to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.
He had a catalogue of wounds including to the ear, shoulder, face and arm and was seen by a plastic surgery team, losing his right thumb.
In an statement to the court describing the impact of the attack on August 11 last year, read by his mother Ffion Williams, 38, Caio said: 'I thought I was going to die.
'I still get bad dreams about what happened.
'I have scars all over my body.'
She was unaware there was an XL bully at the address, the court heard.
Parry, 45, admitted owning a dog dangerously out of control and which caused injury.
The dog had been in a cage in the living room.
Parry later told police a child may have opened it.
The dog was about ten months old and had been bought for £1,000 on Facebook, according to Parry.
In her own emotional impact statement, Caio's mother, a carer, told the judge her son had been 'adventurous and boisterous.'
She said: 'I had absolutely no idea the dog was in the house.
'If I had known there had been an XL Bully at the address I would never have let Caio go in.
'They have a bad reputation.'
She described seeing his ear was torn and thumb had gone.
'He was asking me "Why me, why me, I didn't do anything wrong"' Ms Williams said.
'Caio could have been killed that day. I think about what could have happened.'
Her son still suffers nightmares, she said.
The prosecutor added that Parry had 33 offences on his record including for violence and drug matters.
Defence barrister Simon Killeen said Parry had a wife and four children and had 'absolutely genuine remorse.'
Mr Killeen said the dog required an exemption certificate to keep it.
Parry had used an online system but didn't check payment had been made for it.
Jailing him for 26 months, Judge Nicola Jones said the dog was not wearing a harness or collar when it left the cage.
She said serious injury was caused to the boy, with partial amputation of the thumb, and to Ms Hodgson.
'It was an XL Bully, it was known to be prohibited,' the judge added.
An indefinite order prevents Parry from having custody of a dog.
He protested in Welsh from the dock about his sentence.
Outside court, Caio's mother said: 'I'm glad the case is over.
'It's a life sentence for Caio. It will never be over for Caio.
'I feel guilty because I took him there.'
It has been an offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog in England and Wales without a valid certificate of exemption since a crackdown launched last year following a spate of horrific attacks.
The powerfully-built animals can only be exercised in public on a muzzle and lead.
Dog attacks have risen by a fifth in one year, with police recording more than 80 incidents a day.
In 2023, there were over 6,000 recorded incidents of dog bites requiring hospital treatment.
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Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Britain's worst high street: Why shoppers are terrified to visit city centre in Wales
It has it all. Crime, drugs, homelessness, and now more empty shopfronts than any high street in the UK. It is unlikely Newport was ever in the running to be hailed as the UK's 'best high street', but a recent report has placed the city centre right at the bottom of the list... and it comes as no surprise to locals. The Welsh city is home to some of the highest crime rates in the country, and earlier this year was voted the worst staycation spot in the UK. Now, it has been dubbed the 'worst high street' after think tank Centre for Cities found it has the highest proportion of empty units, with nearly one in five shops - 19 per cent - left boarded up. On Friday officers were called to Commercial Road after a group of men were seen fighting in the street yesterday afternoon, with two wielding huge sword-like blades. It comes as a BBC investigation this week also found that mini-marts and vape shops in the city are routinely being shut down by trading standards over the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes. When the Daily Mail visited the deprived city centre on Thursday, locals and businesses told of how the elderly were 'too frightened' to visit the high street anymore and all that remains are 'vape shops, betting shops and charity shops'. The empty stores have become targets for crime gangs, with Gwent Police uncovering a series of high street buildings being used as cannabis farms last year, of which the largest was a former Wildings store which shut down in 2019. A closed Wildings store in the city centre. Last year, Gwent Police discovered a large cannabis farm being grown by a criminal gang inside the store A short stroll down Commercial Street, the main high street which runs down to Commercial Road in the notorious crime-ridden Pill (Pillgwenlly), and it is hard to miss the rows of boarded up storefronts. A large Debenhams just off the high street remains empty since its closure in 2021 and the abandoned Cineworld has the words 'Ghost' graffitied at the top of the building. Local man Carl, 40, said crime was killing off the high street. He told the Daily Mail: 'There is more crime around here than things that bring happiness to people. 'It used to be a great thriving happy place in the 70s, 80s and 90s. 'Now it's empty and there's nothing to come here for. 'People are too scared to come here, it used to be nice area but now people are too frightened to come here. 'It's the elderly that come to the shops here but they are too frightened. 'There are youngsters just going round causing trouble and trashing things. There's nothing to do for the youngsters so they're out causing trouble. 'You can't go into a shop without someone begging outside now. It's sad. 'People need to come together to make Newport better. We want to see it improve, not deteriorate. 'Everyone here is struggling to survive. People are on the poverty line and even the foodbanks aren't running. 'It's a vulnerable place here, there's a lot of poverty. So it's a target for crime and dodgy shops.' Further down the high street, refuse worker Alun Jones looked around as he told the Daily Mail: 'It's depressing, yeah. It's gone downhill. 'They're all vapes shops, tiny grocery stores, and they get closed down every few months because they're selling illegal vapes and tobacco. 'They get closed down regularly, they get closed down there then they go over the road and open up there. So there's no deterrent. 'A couple of years ago there were four or five cannabis farms found by police in the centre of town. They were just very obviously in the high street, they weren't even trying to hide it. 'The drugs have gotten to the point where you don't notice the people that smell of cannabis anymore. Because it's normal, it's always around. 'There is also a lot of vagrancy around that doesn't help. 'Ever since Covid people who used to come to the centre now don't. I think it's had a big influence on it. They just shop online. 'Just before Covid started getting quieter but now its gone down noticeably. It's killed it off.' He said that while work was ongoing to revamp the Kingsway shopping centre and reopen closed stores, 'it'll probably just be another charity shop or another vape shop'. 'They're not stores of stores that are going to bring people in', he added. 'The worst thing to be done to Newport was building Friars Walk shopping centre. 'People come straight into the car park, go to Friars, and go back. They never come to Commercial Street. 'If that money was invested into Commercial Street maybe it wouldn't be so bad. 'I think before soon the high street will just become predominantly into residential areas.' Recent statistics from the Home Office revealed earlier this year that despite having a population of just 159,600 residents, Newport has the highest crime rate in the country. There are a staggering 121 offences committed for every 1,000 people, and analysis by MailOnline showed that crimes including possession of weapons, sexual offences and violence have all markedly increased since Covid. Newport Council says that while it acknowledges the need to reduce the number of vacant retail units, the figures are 'distorted' because Newport has the highest amount of retail space per head than any of the other 62 high streets featured in the Centre for Cities report. They also say that apart from Newport and Leicester, no other council provided vacancy data, and so the vacancy figures are based on 'modelling'. Kevin Ward, of Newport City Centre Business Improvement District, has also hit out at the report's findings, saying the report only focused on 63 of the country's largest cities and towns. He also argued that the situation has improved, from some 33 per cent of store units being vacant in 2021 to 19 per cent in the most recent figures. Antonio Campo and Rosy Ferrara, who have been running the popular Bar Piazza cafe near the centre's Friar Walk for 11 years, however say customers tell them they are scared to go to Commercial Street despite being around the corner. They said: 'People don't feel safe in Newport anymore. Our customers don't feel safe so they don't go near the main street. 'They don't feel safe. The crimes, the drugs and alcohol in this area is not good. The alcohol should be kept to the pub but it is not. 'I came here 11 years ago and back then I feel Newport was amazing. It's in the last 4 or 5 years it feels like no one cares about Newport anymore. 'I think the council is working well now to help the empty shops but it's still not good. 'You can organise as much things as you want, but if people don't feel safe then people will not come. 'I never felt unsafe in Newport, but I remember probably a year ago and my kids were playing outside my cafe. 'The girl from Specsavers said to me "keep your kids close because there are people here grabbing kids and going." 'I don't know if true but not very nice to hear. It's not something you want to worry about.' Close to the city centre are also some of the city's most deprived and crime-ridden areas including Pill, another factor which is thought to drive both customers and businesses away. Heidi Mehta, 50, said: 'I was a student here about 20 years ago. 'It was a thriving place to be, it felt safe, it had lots of cafes, it was a good place to go out. All of that is gone. 'I remember there being lot of shops that I could buy my art materials and things to do with my course, and now it feels like it's all pound shops or charity shops or betting shops or completely empty. Or vape shops, which wasn't around then. 'I don't feel the need to come into the high street anymore, there isn't the draw to come in. 'The only time I come into the city centre is for the bank and when I come in in the mornings there are a lot of homeless people outside the shopfronts. 'The feeling isn't I'll come to the bank and stay for a coffee. 'There is an issue with homeless people and drug use here, which is sad. 'It's definitely deprived, far more evident now than it used to be. People haven't got the income to spend that money, and you haven't got the shops that will bring in people with money. 'Surrounding areas here are very deprived as well so it won't do much for the centre of Newport.' Louise Reece, 37, told of how she tends to avoid coming into the centre and had spent the last hour trying to find her baby daughter a red t-shirt but struggled to find any clothes shops. She said: 'I don't tend to come into Newport for shopping anymore. 'It feels abandoned, it's forgotten. 'If you go 20 minutes up the road to Cwmbran, it's thriving. So is Cardiff. 'But there's nothing here. I've seen towns with bigger high streets. I suspect its the lack of investment. The woman told the Daily Mail of how she had found herself walking up and down the high street trying to find a single clothes shop for her to buy her daughter a t-shirt 'They've done an impressive job on the riverfront, but Newport has just been left to fall apart. 'My son used to love going to Geek Retreat but that shut a few weeks ago. It's a board game shop, a great space for kids to come down. 'I'm walking up and down and there's nowhere to go get some baby clothes. There's loads of charity shops and vape shops but no clothes shops. I just need a red t-shirt for her. It shouldn't be so difficult. 'It's got a bad reputation across the board, it's probably the worst city across Wales. 'It is struggling. It's a cycle. People don't have jobs, can't afford to shop in the high street.' Cherie Adams, 64 has lived in Newport all her life and looked back at what it once was. She said: 'It has gone down. When I was in school it was really thriving. 'It was a good shopping centre. Now people want to go to Cwmbran or Cardiff. 'I suppose every high street is suffering but this one especially. 'It's gotten a lot worse with homeless people, beggars, it's more noticeable now. 'I try to avoid them. I feel sorry for them but don't want to be on the tail end of them. 'You can hear them shouting up the street and you can tell they have mental health issues and drug issues. 'There was a bloke in the centre the other day who was on Spice and they are obviously getting it from somewhere. 'It's sad because I have seen it decline. 'It's changed a lot and I was born and bred here. 'Covid hit it harder but before that it was still in the background if you get what I mean. It was still happening. 'Covid was sort of the death knell. It's not really ever recovered.' While Newport was listed by the thinktank as the city with the highest proportion of empty store units, London, Cambridge and Oxford had the lowest vacancy rates, with under 10 per cent of shops lying empty. Tesni Howells, 18, felt it was a lack of local investment and independent businesses that was killing Newport's high street. He said: 'The major changes I've seen in the city centre was probably the leisure centre being closed. 'We haven't had anything like that since that was closed about a decade ago. 'Nothing in Friars Walk ever stays there. 'It's the same thing with the markets. 'It's gone in favour of big businesses coming in and they're not staying because it's actually not very profitable. 'What I'd really like to see is less of the big business and have more local businesses.' Council leader Councillor Dimitri Batrouni said: 'We absolutely agree that the number of retail units in the city centre needs to be reduced as the centre is too big for present day demand. 'The challenge is that city centre properties are mainly privately owned, sometimes by absent and neglectful landlords and it will require significant investment to achieve a reduction. 'However, we are determined to transform our city centre to be fit for the 21st century. The placemaking plan set outs proposals to start that process. In due course, we will be setting out further ambitious plans for our centre.'
Sky News
7 hours ago
- Sky News
Inside the prison doing family visits differently - as children visit father 'at work'
Kane, Harley, Harris and Nelly seem like any young family. The kids - three-year-old Harris and four-year-old Nelly - are excited. They are going to see their dad at "work". They are sweet, energetic little children about to head out for the day. Harley, 30, and Kane, 32, talk via video chat about what they'll do when they meet up and what they are going to have for dinner. It feels like a pretty normal family dynamic, with one crucial difference: Kane is in prison for drug offences, and the video call was connected from HMP Oakwood in the West Midlands. 1:42 We got to spend the day with Harley, Kane and the kids as we experienced what as many as 10,000 children experience every single week: the feeling of going into a prison to see a person you love. There's another crucial difference between what we witnessed and what most other kids have to go through. We were going to a prison rated among the best in the UK for family visitation. The data is spotty, and the exact percentage is tough to measure, but it's regarded throughout the criminal justice ecosystem that a person who receives family visits while incarcerated is 39% less likely to reoffend. The better the visits, so the thinking goes, the more the chance of reoffending diminishes. Our prisons are close to full: as of 28 July, there were 87,966 people in prison in England and Wales. The prison capacity is 89,373, so we are at a rate of 98.4%. That's why a number of prisoners have recently been released early - and why, earlier this year, there was a landmark review into sentencing by David Gauke, which aimed to reduce the number of people sent to prison in the first place. So, how does a programme like the one at Oakwood fit into that? Their scheme, called Journey At Home, seeks to make a family visit as rewarding as possible to the family involved if the prisoner exhibits the right kind of behaviour to show they can handle the responsibility. As we were told by Sean Oliver, the director of Oakwood - yes, it's the prison's job to punish. The deprivation of liberty and personal autonomy does that - but it's also the prison's job to mould an individual to be a member of society upon their release. And it's a connection with family which goes a long way to providing the prisoner with the incentive to come out reformed and stay out. But it's not just the impact on the prisoner. We wanted to explore the impact on the family of losing a loved one to prison. And that takes us back to Kane and Harley's house. It's 10am and we are getting ready to leave with them. It takes two hours minimum to get to and from the prison holding Kane, and the little ones do it week in, week out. Harley tries to make it all as normal as possible. But it's anything but. That's why she calls it "going to see daddy at work". She tells me later in the car ride over, she tries to protect the kids as much as possible. She knows Nelly knows the truth, but is too young to vocalise her feelings about it. And this visit for Harley, Harris and Nelly mirrors Harley's own childhood experience. She, too, had to visit her dad in prison and reflected on how different it was for her kids. She says when she went in, there was nothing for her to do but sit around a table. She said she was bored. But for her kids, they end up meeting other children during the visits and playing with them, making the experience less scary. In a field where some of the data can be argued over, one element is solid: a parent going into prison for a child is an adverse childhood experience. Shona Minson, a leading researcher in children's experiences within the prison system, says losing a loved one to prison can be more destabilising in a child's mind than a death. She told Sky News: "So death happens, you know the person's gone, you know they're not coming back. "Prison, someone goes in, you don't know when they're coming back, so they've lost all kinds of things, but they don't know if they're lost permanently or temporarily." That's why there are growing calls to provide more support to the families of prisoners. Leanne Hennessey, the family interventions manager at Oakwood, says: "Prisoners in here have got a lot of support. "They've got their family. They've got us. But yet, the family on the outside haven't always got that." And that's a feeling echoed by the Ministry of Justice, which said: "We know growing up with a parent in prison can have a devastating impact on a child's life chances - which is why we're ensuring these children are better identified and get the support they need. "The Prison Service offers a range of services to maintain family relationships in prison, including social visits and family days." Back in Oakwood, after a journey that saw us stuck in a traffic jam, the kids are searched, and then we are guided through to meet Kane. We are in a large hall, not unlike a church hall, with a kitchen at one end. Kane enters through a side door and calls out to his kids. The family runs to him - apart from the little boy Harris, who is distracted by a toy. The warm family reunion over, it's time to cook. Kane is making them brown stew chicken - a Jamaican classic. I ask him if he's Jamaican. He says no but adds: "What happens when you're cooking with different people on the wing all the time, you know, you've got different people from different ethnic backgrounds, you've Asian lads cooking curry, teaching us. We all look after each other on the wings." I ask Kane about his family and how seeing them this way makes him feel. He says that without them, he doesn't know where he would be. They are his incentive to behave well and get out of prison. He's due for release in 2029. Daniel Daly runs the visits at the prison. He's a man who admits he got into the work by accident but now feels it's something of a calling. He really believes in what he does and sees the benefits for the prisoner in having that family connection. Mr Daly says that during a visit, there is often a "paradoxical moment". "In that split second," he tells Sky News, "[prisoners] stand still and have a realisation". "The children have just left, they look at you and think, 'I can't come back. I don't want to say goodbye'. "Most people wouldn't say goodbye and say see you later today. But for some of these gents, saying goodbye might be a couple of days, might be about two weeks. That goodbye is too long. "So for me, yeah, it's a paradoxical moment, that split-second where they just think: 'You know what, I need to be a better man.'" After hours of largely unsupervised interaction, Kane and his family sit down for a meal. The four of them sit around a table, talking, eating and being together - maintaining that familial bond. We thank them and say our goodbyes. In his eponymous 2017 review, Lord Michael Farmer - who was recruited by the last Conservative government for a review into family visits - found that prisoners are 39% less likely to reoffend if they see their loved ones. That was a figure he was given by the MoJ to work from, he says, and while his 2017 recommendations were largely listened to by the government, he believes more needs to be done to improve these prison visits. "If there's somebody there on the outside ... who you know cares for you," he says, it can "impart in the prisoner a sense of responsibility". He talked back in 2017 of family visits being a golden thread that ran through a person's rehabilitation. Read more: Men's prisons 'could run out of space in months' Fears drones could be used to lift inmates out of prisons Get Sky News on WhatsApp Follow our channel and never miss an update. Tap here to follow HMP Oakwood is run by G4S and may be exceptional at family visits, but it is certainly the exception when it comes to the prison system. And for Kane, Harley, Harris, and Nelly, it's making all the difference. The hope is that its example can be replicated, where appropriate, in other prisons.
The Sun
11 hours ago
- The Sun
Inside UK's day drinking booze binge hotspot where revellers enjoy ‘sex acts' in streets & pass out on dirty pavements
ON a sunny Saturday afternoon the streets of this UK city are full of boozed up revellers, dressed to the nines or parading their stag and hens in fancy dress. It's 3pm and everywhere you look it's a riotous scene, but with mums pushing babies in buggies past bulging bars it feels inappropriately early and what happens next stops me in my tracks. 11 I'm standing on Cardiff's St Mary Street on a payday weekend and watch as a man gropes and humps a blow up doll in front of streams of shoppers and children heading towards the train station. Two tween girls trailing behind their mums on a shopping trip stop and gawp along with me. Further up the street a girl gang starts to simulate oral sex and a doggy style threesome, enjoying the attention from the camera but carelessly shoulder barging an elderly woman in the process. Moments later a woman passes by chugging fizzy wine from the bottle. Just metres from Cardiff's oldest shopping arcade, a boozed up bloke is laid out on the pavement while a kind cafe worker offers him a cup of water. The listed arcades are full of shoppers cutting through who are greeted by his figure spread out on the floor. The daytime drinking culture is booming in this city and data suggests it is being driven by revellers wanting to avoid pricey cabs and catch public transport home to keep costs down. A study by Infinity Calculator analysed data on the most populated areas in the UK via cost of living calculator Expatistan to find where people can enjoy a night out at the lowest cost. It revealed that Cardiff is the second most affordable city for a night out, being beaten only by Dundee where the average spend is just £25.35. Cardiff's spend was £27.33, where the average cost of a pint of beer is a mere £3.43. It's not just anti-social behaviour causing problems. The fallout of Welsh drinking culture is huge. Public Health Wales found there is a cost of more than £1 billion of harm to society in Wales where 45% of men and 34% of women admit to drinking above the recommended guidelines and alcohol is the cause of around 1,500 deaths a year. I've had my fair share of wild Cardiff nights out. During my party girl heyday I wouldn't have dreamt of booking a taxi to the club until at least 11pm. We'd start at home with rounds of cheap supermarket booze before heading into town to unleash our debauched behaviour under the cover of darkness. I used to clock off from my waitressing shift and head straight to the clubs. It was after midnight - who cared if I was twerking in a sauce stained apron? I hazily remember throwing up for hours in the toilets of a strip club and sharing booze with a homeless man at a taxi rank - I was a nightmare in a short skirt. Now revellers are partying with the same abandon but at 3pm, as toddlers grip their parents hands in horror. The St Mary Street scene caught the eye of coal miner Glyndwr Roberts, 48, as we stood side by side on the pavement. 11 11 Chuckling and shaking his head, Glyndwr, who is in the city to socialise with work pals, said: 'It's an eye opener, seeing kids walking past him with a blow up doll. They're seeing things at an early age they shouldn't. It's not right. I can't believe my eyes. 'My two boys are 24 and 17 now. It's totally different from when they were little. We'd never have come out to be near this and it wouldn't be happening in the day. 'I look out for everyone. I tell the boys from work to mind their language around kids in town but if you see me at midnight it will be a different story.' Cardiff Council's Cumulative Impact Assessment states that 'Cardiff's City Centre has a thriving day and night-time economy with an average daily footfall of 70,000 and an annual footfall of over 40 million". It continues: 'People are drawn to the City Centre for its numerous shops, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues including the Principality Stadium, all of which are situated in a small walkable area.' Crime hot spot But with more than 300 licensed premises in a half a mile radius St Mary Street has become a hot spot for crime, arguably being fuelled by booze. The harms of binge drinking The NHS defines binge drinking as 'drinking heavily over a short space of time'. More than 8 units of alcohol in a single session for males, or more than 6 units in a single session for females is the technical definition, according to Drinkaware. That's equivalent to about four pints of normal strength beer for a man or three pints for a woman. When you binge drink, other than getting drunk, your heart rate and blood pressure will rise. It can cause irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmias. Alcohol increases stomach acid production - queue the nausea and potentially vomiting. You're also likely to experience impaired judgement, coordination, memory blackouts and poor decision making. This could lead to accidents, falls, drownings and other mistakes. Long term, binge drinking can cause acute liver damage and increase the risk of chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. Cardiovascular problems include cardiomyopathy - which is when the heart loses the ability to pump blood efficiently - and an increased risk of stroke. Over time, binge drinking can contribute to permanent brain damage. This may present as a mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression. Binge drinking can also lead to alcohol dependence, or "addiction". In 2023, South Wales Police shared data that found the street had the highest levels of recorded crime. Personally I avoid it if I head to the capital with my two boys who are seven and four. As a local I know how to navigate the city to skip past the reams of packed smoking areas pumping out clouds of vape smoke and expletives. Instead I head out of the train station towards Westgate Street, avoiding the crush of the packed pavements by Walkabout, Coyote Ugly and The Prince of Wales Wetherspoon. But plenty of dumbstruck tourists and shoppers didn't get the memo last Saturday and found themselves in the midst of stag parties dressed in drag, hens out as scantily clad cowgirls and a birthday troupe in full Avengers superhero garb. "Upset and intimidated" Daniella Thomas, 29, was out in the bars celebrating a birthday. She works in hospitality and said: 'It's a wicked atmosphere being out on a sunny day and people like to get their drinking done early, catch the train home and be in bed by ten. You can still get a good sleep and less of a hangover that way.' 11 Trying to keep the city enjoyable but safe is FOR Cardiff, the Welsh capital's business improvement district that works with city centre organisations of all types. Carolyn Brownell is the Executive Director, she said: 'A lot goes on behind the scenes around creating that welcoming environment. 'Safety is a really important element of what FOR Cardiff does. We lead the Women's Safety Network in Cardiff, our Night Marshal teams provide a reassuring presence in the city centre during the busiest times, offering support to the public getting home safely and through our Safe Places scheme we invite venues to offer refuge to anyone feeling vulnerable.' The work behind the scenes is paying off as Cardiff has received Purple Flag accreditation for a seventh year, in recognition of its commitment to creating a dynamic, secure, and vibrant evening and night-time economy for all. Purple Flag – similar to the Blue Flag for beaches – aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between 5 pm and 5 am. But what about the day time? I spoke to parents who felt upset and intimidated by the rowdy behaviour in town during their Saturday shopping trip. "It's chaos on a Saturday" Lauren Moyle, 30, is a shop sales assistant and a mum-of-one. She chatted to me outside TK Maxx, saying: 'When I got on the train we knew it was going to be chaos. We made a plan to avoid parts of town where the drinkers are and get what we need and get out. 11 'Shopping isn't enjoyable when town is packed. You're on edge a bit keeping everyone safe. The language is shocking too.' Lauren's friend Chloe Wallis is 33 and a mum-of-four. She added: 'If you go to St Mary Street you assume you'll hear the language and see all the drunk behaviour so we avoid there but it spreads into town. We just took the kids for a Burger King and groups in there were effing and blinding. It's not acceptable. 'But I don't feel able to say anything, it's too intimidating and I have to keep the kids safe. It's a shame but we do avoid town because of it usually.' Some of the conditions that need to be met for a premises to sell alcohol include taking measures to prevent public nuisance and protect children from harm. I asked Cardiff council if enough is being done to safeguard families in Cardiff city centre from day time drinkers. They said: 'We continue to work with our partners in South Wales Police and in FOR Cardiff to find the right balance in the city centre, so that everyone can enjoy their visit. 'We also have our own Council staff on the ground. For example, our team of wardens operate Tuesday to Saturday, reporting and acting to stop anti-social behaviour they encounter throughout the day and into the early evening on Friday and Saturday. 'Our licensing team also visits licensed premises to ensure they are well managed and compliant with their Premises Licence.' I'm not a prude or a bore but families have a right to enjoy public spaces without being subjected to riotous swearing, simulated sex acts and drunken antics from boozed up party animals. I'd welcome any steps to make our Capital more family friendly during busy weekends. But after spending all afternoon with revellers I decided if you can't beat them, join them and end the day sitting in the sunshine enjoying a large glass of rose before heading home. 11
