Alcohol sales blamed as Romford revealed as London’s most violent area outside Westminster

Romford Town is London’s most violent area outside the City of Westminster, new figures show.

Met Police data for the years 2010-12 place Romford Town third out of Greater London’s 624 electoral wards for reported incidents of violence against a person – a category that includes murder, GBH, assault, violence with an offensive weapon and harassment.

With 1,862 reported incidents over two years, Romford Town ranked behind only St James’s and the West End.

Ward councillor Frederick Thompson blamed alcohol sales for the high figures.

“I’ve heard from the police that people go into clubs and get drunk extremely quickly,” he said. “I think it’s mostly down to that. Too many clubs are open late and a lot of these incidents take place in the early hours of the morning.

“We have a society that is always ‘more, more, more’. It’s not drinking – it’s people’s personalities that cause them to drink.

“Walking through Romford does feel threatening. You feel intimidated when people are too boisterous.”

Despite the high crime numbers, violence has fallen in Romford Town over the last two years.

Romford ranked fourth out of London wards for the year 2011/12, with Fairfield in Croydon edging in front.

And the area has seen a year-on-year fall of 19 per cent in violent crime figures – from 1,026 to 836.