4:16pm Wednesday 12th September 2007
By Lawrence Marzouk
A supermarket which has halted deliveries to a large slice of east Brighton because of safety fears is facing a boycott by a growing band of residents.
Whitehawk neighbours have contacted The Argus to say they will no longer be shopping at the Brighton Marina Asda after the chain decided to halt home deliveries.
But the superstore remained committed to its no-go zone yesterday, claiming that drivers were fearful of travelling to Whitehawk.
A spokesman said that stones had been thrown at vans and drivers intimidated but Inspector Steve Curry, who is responsible for policing east Brighton, said the problem had not been raised with the police.
Chris El-Shabba, secretary of Whitehawk's crime prevention team, said she would no longer shop at Asda along with many of her neighbours.
She said: "I'm disgusted - you see other delivery vans from major stores in the area.
"We are not deprived. We are not dangerous. We are a mixture of local people who are doing a lot to keep crime down.
"As far as I'm concerned now its no-go Asda. I always used to shop there, for myself, the lunch clubs I run and other functions across the estate. I'm not going to shop there anymore.
"I know that a lot of people will not be shopping there. If that is the way they feel they can keep their shopping."
Tahani Costanzo, 40, of Grinstead Mount, said: "I also used to think Whitehawk was a rough and scary place and swore blind I would never live there.
"But it really is a wonderful place to live and it does not deserve its terrible reputation when other parts of Brighton are a lot worse antisocial-behaviour wise than Whitehawk.
"It's about time Whitehawk stopped getting tagged with the label deprived and undesirable.
"Why on earth would Asda staff get attacked when Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose deliver without a problem?
"Shame on Asda, if staff really got attacked, how come it never made the pages of The Argus - it's just an excuse and I for one will be boycotting Asda until they start showing some respect to the people of Whitehawk."
Insp Curry said all offences had plummeted in Whitehawk, which was a safe place to live with a strong community spirit.
He added: "I am going to be seeking a meeting with the senior managers at Asda.
"There will always be isolated incidents but we are bringing about a sustainable reduction in crime."
Councillor Warren Morgan, chairman of the Whitehawk Crime Prevention Forum, said he was calling for Asda to the forum to explain its decision.
He said: "I'm not aware of other supermarkets or delivery companies having similar policies, and it's disappointing that this decision promotes outdated stereotypes of an estate which now has crime rates comparable to or lower than most areas of the city."
A spokesman for Asda said this was only the second time a ban had been imposed in the UK.
He said: "It is not a decision we take lightly.
"The staff who deliver to in that particular area do not fell safe - they have been physically threatened.
"It may be a small minority that is causing this particular problem but we will not put the safety of our staff in jeopardy."
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