GATES installed at the entrance of a town centre street to reduce weekend violence have moved the problem elsewhere in the town, according to a taxi firm.

The gates were put up to stop traffic using Yarm Lane, Stockton, between Prince Regent Street and the High Street, between 10pm and 3pm, every Friday and Saturday.

Before the gates were fitted in November, the area was a hotspot for anti-social behaviour. In one year, 545 incidents were recorded as people came out of nightclubs and scrambled for taxis.

However, Mohammed Farooq, owner of Alpha Cars, in Yarm Lane, said that although the amount of trouble in the area had decreased, it had now moved on to the High Street.

He said: "The whole thing is misleading. Yes, the number of incidents in the area has reduced, but that is only because more police have been brought in and because everyone now congregates in the High Street.

"We have seen a drastic fall in the amount of people using our taxis as they are not allowed to wait at our offices and instead have to walk five minutes to be picked up.

He said people were not prepared to wait and this was affecting the business.

"If we cannot sustain our base numbers then we may have to shut down.

"There is now only one way in and out of the High Street on a weekend and people are taking their lives into their own hands when they cross the road. It is just a timebomb.

"Just because some yobs want a fight why should we suffer?"

The gates are an 18 month experimental measure which will be reviewed after a year. Emergency vehicles are still able to get through an entrance at the Prince Regent Street junction.

Superintendent Dave Pickard, of Stockton Police, said the gates had been introduced to reduce anti-social behaviour in the area and there had not been an increase in the number of officers in the area.

Supt Pickard added that an evaluation on the number of incidents taking place in the area would be ready in the next couple of days.