AFTER 6pm in Darlington, the Skerne trickles past the new benches and walkways in the new park behind the town hall, but the workers who have sat quietly here are long gone home.

Now, as the weekend begins, it’s the face of night time Darlington. In the next street, a girl screams at her partner among the throng of people outside the Boot & Shoe, loud enough to be heard over throbbing music.

She follows her partner to the cigarette- and rubbish-strewn bench outside Tesco. They argue loudly over him looking at a young girl.

He walks off past the beggar outside Tesco and on to a new pub, smokes a cigarette and throws the rest on the floor.

Suddenly commotion at Tesco: a thief has stolen sandwiches and runs off, the security guard unable to catch him.

As the bells from the church chime, at last my bus arrives.

Fast forward to 6pm the next night, a drunk slumps on a bench now covered in more cigarette butts and empty cartons. The beggar with him slumps against Tesco as rain falls.

Suddenly, a cry for an ambulance goes out as a man collapses after coming out of a pub. About 45 minutes later, with more drunks watching and throwing down butts, he is taken away.

I move to get my bus from my position in Tubwell Row. The pump is festooned with more cigarettes and cartons. The beggar gets up and hobbles off with a tin can, ready to sleep and return again.

What happened to the fine for dropping litter? What happened to being able to sit on a bench and rest in peace?

As for the beggar positioned next to the cash machine, is he homeless or merely begging to pay for drugs – sitting all day and making more than some earn?

If people want to give money, give to a recognised charity, or maybe move him to a nicer place like the new park and walkway (I’m sure he would be moved quicker from there than the year-and-a-half he’s been outside Tesco).

Name supplied, Darlington