ASBO threat to aggressive touts selling punting trips to tourists in Cambridge

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The beautiful city has been blighted by pushy touts desperate to sell tickets to tourists for punting on the Cam.

The situation where touts hassle tourists has been described as an "uncontrolled nightmare."

Cambridge: Agressive punt touts annoy tourists

Legitimate punting traders have complained for several years that their customers were being hassled as the touts compete against each other for tourists' cash.

In 2005 Cambridge City Council finally introduced a bylaw it hoped would calm the situation with a provision to fine touts who misbehave £500.

But after another summer of complaints the city council is this year promising to crack down on out-of-control punt touts.

Alistair Roberts, the city council's safer communities manager, has written to punt operators promising to seek Anti Social Behaviour Orders for touts who "cause obstruction or annoyance to anyone in a public space".

He said: "Anybody can get an ASBO for causing alarm and distress in public and in serious cases this would apply to punt touts.

"We don't want to go down that route. We don't want to stop businesses operating. But we want to stop the unpleasant experience some people have by the river."

The council said examples of touts' behaviour which could trigger a fine include: multiple approaches to the same customer, people stepping in front of each other to approach customers, following customers and approaching queues.

Cllr Lewis Herbert, Labour leader on Cambridge City Council, said he wants touting outlawed in the city's Bridge Street altogether.

But Mr Roberts said the council was not within its rights to do that.

Cllr Herbert said the council's latest measures were "nothing more than a finger in the dyke effort".

He said: "Aggressive punt touting is taking over our streets.

"This problem was bad enough two years ago, worse last year and this summer it's developing into an uncontrolled nightmare. "A total ban on touting is needed on streets and pavements near the river to stop parts of our great city becoming no-go areas."