TRADERS have spoken of their dismay about the end of a night marshals scheme in a market town, after a series of violent incidents sparked concerns over public safety and property.

Hambleton and Richmondshire Community Safety Partnership said the initiative to keep alcohol-fuelled disorder in Northallerton to a minimum on Friday and Saturday nights by employing a security team to patrol the town centre had run out of funding.

An evaluation of the scheme, which had been funded with a three-year Home Office grant as part of a nationwide crackdown on antisocial behaviour, found the project was not essential and it came to an end last week.

Cafe owner Virginia Roden questioned whether it was a coincidence that a 23-year-old man had been left needing hospital treatment following an attack outside the town's Club Amadeus nightclub in the early hours of Sunday, (November 16) - days after the scheme ended.

The attack came four days after a street robbery nearby, which left a 43-year-old man with a fractured skull, a broken wrist and a chest injury and three months after an alleged serious sex attack on a Saturday night in the Elder Road area.

When the scheme was launched, North Yorkshire Police said night marshals had proved their worth in other areas of the county.

Mrs Roden said: "The marshals have been an absolute godsend as the police can't be outside nightclubs and takeaways every night and the whole community knows the marshals.

"They had no power of arrest, but they were good at making sure everyone got home safe, were in radio contact with the CCTV operators and the police and would deal with any trouble if the police were not there."

Mrs Roden and fellow trader Councillor John Coulson said they had both suffered broken windows in late-night incidents, and said they feared businesses would face spiralling damage.

Cllr Coulson said: "It's disappointing as the marshals have done a good job, their presence has been a deterrent for many things."

Leaders of the partnership said while the marshals had been valuable, it had other priorities, such as domestic abuse.

Its chairman, Councillor Carl Les, said: "We have had to take some difficult decisions.

"The night marshals were a useful tool, but Northallerton also has door staff, CCTV and regular police patrols."

He said the partnership would monitor incidents in the town, and added the scheme could be relaunched if traders felt sufficiently strongly about it to contribute funding.