New police chief beats the boozers.

(From Bristol Evening Post)

AN area which became notorious as a meeting place for drunks and drug addicts has been transformed after action by a new police chief.

Variously known as Turbo Island, The Green and The Triangle, the area - just off Stokes Croft near the city centre - was until a few months ago an intimidating place for passers-by.

But since Inspector Julie Bowle became the acting inspector for the Ashley sector, the inner-city area has undergone a remarkable turnaround.

She said: "I was absolutely appalled when I first saw it.

"I'd been used to living in the country. Bristol was the first city I'd lived in and I found it hard to believe what was happening day after day at the gateway to the heart of the biggest city in the South West. " The street drinkers spent their days at Turbo Island surrounded by empty bottles and cans, and the walls of nearby buildings were covered with flyposters and graffiti.

Inspector Bowle persuaded the city council to introduce a ban on street drinking in Stokes Croft and the surrounding area, a move that had already been successful in St Agnes.