Sheffield pub owner sick and tired after ‘spice zombies’ pictured slumped on Fargate

Conor Smith, who owns the Dog & Partridge on Trippet Lane, said he is “sick and tired” of seeing an already-struggling city centre brought down further by the behaviour of people drinking and taking drugs on the street and harassing people for money.

A picture of he took of Fargate on Sunday afternoon shows one man in a zombie-like state unresponsive on the floor with bedding scattered around him. After posting it online another person said the problem ‘seems to have worsened in recent months’. They wrote: “The city centre doesn't feel particularly safe anymore, especially for families.”

Conor said: “There was lots of guys hanging around zombied out. They were being aggressive, demanding money off people, abusing people and fighting people.

"It’s been going on for ages in the city centre, it’s terrible. It’s a daily occurrence.”

In 2015 a staff member at the Dog & Partridge was threatened with a syringe by a man taking drugs in their toilet. The police were called but never attended, Conor said.

He added: “A friend of mine said he was talking through town and saw police talking to them while they were rolling up spice joints.

"It seems like no one is doing anything about it. We all know the city centre is on it’s arse at the moment, the last thing we need is people being too scared to come into town.”

Conor’s wife was abused when she refused to hand over money at the cash machine on Sunday (2 August).

He said: “It’s hard to quantify [the effect on the business] but business is quiet at the moment. Customers do frequently mention incidents in town.

"It’s frustrating. Every one seems aware that it’s happening and no one seems to be doing anything. Some people need help and they should get help instead of being abandoned on the streets.”