A SLEEP-DEPRIVED resident is taking a stand against late-night noise and anti-social behaviour in Marlow, sparked by a pub’s plans to extend its opening times until 4am.

The proactive campaigner, who has asked not to be named, is mobilising neighbours by offering his help to noise-blighted Marlovians who suffer from loud, drunken, anti-social behaviour or other noise issues on the town’s streets, wherever it stems from.

Driven on by news the Cross Keys wants to open until 4am at weekends, he leaflet-dropped the area and says he has been inundated with replies to an email address which set up to provide help.

The MFP has seen several messages from concerned residents all over town who suffer sleepless nights due to shouting, glass smashing, violence and loud engine revving in the early hours.

One fretting Marlovian said: "Every weekend we are woken by anti social behaviour in the Dean St car park between two and four am Friday and Saturday nights.

"This can be general shouting , swearing, singing whilst fights are a regular occurrence. Last weekend I was awoken to a group of young men screaming and chasing each other with bottles.

"It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed.

"I would ask anyone from the council to sit in their car in the Dean Street Park any Friday or Saturday night between two and three and witness what goes on and imagine having to live within 100 yards."

Many of the complaints arise from the Cross Keys’ later license application, which is due to be heard by Wycombe District Council next month.

While anti-social behaviour cannot be pinned down to the Cross Keys, many residents say having only one pub open until beyond 1am causes a bottleneck of drunken crowds around Spittal Street after closing time.

Cross Keys landlord Michael Kellas insists his plan to close the bar later will relieve these symptoms, allowing for a steady flow of revellers rather than a ‘mass exodus’ at the end of the night.

And he says limiting the crowds will make it easier to identify and bar noisy offenders, adding that the plan stems from love for the town and his concern for residents, not for profits.

Inspector Scott Messenger, who heads the tram at Marlow Police Station, told the MFP earlier this year that plans for a ‘Pubwatch’ scheme are in the pipeline.

This community scheme would see troublemakers identified and barred from all town pubs to discourage them from coming to the area at night.

Insp. Messenger has insisted Marlow’s nightlife is one of the safest in the area, adding that while a police presence is necessary at weekends, problems are kept to a minimum.

Tackling anti-social behaviour also remains Marlow Neighbourhood police’s number one priority, as identified by the area’s Neighbourhood Action Group.

However, the wealth of complaints from residents arising from the Cross Keys plan gives a different picture of the problems affecting residents after closing time.

One family said they had hardly had a continuous night’s sleep at weekends since they moved in, with plant pots on the windowsill frequently vandalised and thrown in the road.

And complaining to the council, they suggested the late night opening hours should actually be reduced, rather than extended, when heard by the licensing committee on October 8.