People and communities
Hefty fine and three-year town centre ban handed to prolific street drinker in Walsall
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A prolific street drinker has been banned from entering Walsall town centre for three years.
Paul Hinds, of High Street, Brownhills was not present at Dudley Magistrates’ Court on 8 October 2025 where four separate breaches of the town centre’s Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) were heard.
All four offences relate to consuming alcohol in a public place, with the first offence dating back to February this year.
The prosecution follows a string of warnings given to Mr Hinds by the council’s community protection team and West Midlands Police.
District Judge Wheeler fined Mr Hinds a total of £580, comprising of four, £75 fines for each offence, £250 worth of costs and a £30 victim surcharge.
The council also applied for a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) to be issued, which the court can grant against an individual to tackle the most persistent anti-social behaviour.
The CBO was granted for three years, meaning Mr Hinds is liable to be arrested by police and could face imprisonment should this be breached.
“ We all have a duty to respect the places we live and the people we live alongside. Where that duty is repeatedly ignored, the council will step in to protect residents and uphold the standards we all deserve.
Our community protection teams are working tirelessly to clamp down on anti-social behaviour across the borough, and we’re recruiting five additional community protection enforcement officers to tackle the issues we face.
This is another successful prosecution which has banned someone from the town centre for blatant disregard of the rules, and I applaud the teams involved for securing these outcomes which send a clear message: that we will enforce anti-social behaviour in Walsall.
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In September 2025, Walsall Council’s Cabinet signed off plans to invest £4.4 million to tackle fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour and environmental crime across the borough.
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