An award-winning city park has descended into a state of lawlessness claim residents who have called a crisis meeting with police and council officials.

People living near the Dane John Gardens are complaining the mayhem – including vandalism, fighting, drug abuse and drunken disturbance – is worse than ever.

The picturesque city centre site once boasted Green Flag status after being enhanced with a £1 million lottery grant in 2003 but, in a dramatic fall from grace, it has since been the scene of a string of heinous crimes, including a brutal killing, an attempted rape and a violent gang attack.

Residents say there is little police presence to combat it and are meeting with the force’s top brass to voice their fears.

Chairman of the St Mildred’s Area Community Society Reg Race said: “It’s worse than it’s ever been and now out of control.

“Recently there have been multiple incidents of anti-social behaviour, with criminal damage, fights, broken bottles, people urinating and trampling in the flower beds.

“It’s intolerable lawlessness and someone needs to get a grip of it.”

The group has called a meeting with police and the city council, which is due to take place at the Age Concern centre in Castle Street at 7pm on Wednesday, July 19.

It is also being attended by representatives of both city universities after claims some of the anti-social behaviour is caused by students on their way to and from city nightspots.

Mr Race said: “The time has come where there has to be some action and measures brought in to tackle it. We will not accept our concerns being brushed off anymore.

“To be fair, council contractors have done their best to make the gardens attractive with flower planting, but the lives of people living nearby are being ruined.

“Occasionally a police car will swing by in the early evening, but the problems mostly happen between 11pm and 3am and, unfortunately, we do have evidence that sometimes its students who are responsible for the anti-social behaviour.

“We want to discuss a range of options with the police and council, including more and better quality CCTV so the culprits can be caught.

"I know police resources are stretched, but we can’t go on like this.”

Chief Inspector Mark Weller says the gardens are regularly patrolled, with 19 crimes reported since December.

“When you consider the city’s large population and number of tourists, our experience and evidence indicates that this is not a disproportionate problem,” he said.

“We are not complacent and are committed to regularly talking to residents and working with local partners to assess crime in all areas of this district, including Dane John Gardens, and will continue that dialogue.”

The city council admits the Dane John faces “some challenges” as it is required to be open 24 hours a day.

Spokesman Rob Davies explained: “This is because the path through it is classed as a highway and access must also be retained for residents who live there.

“Like most open spaces, there are occasional incidents of vandalism and crime that we and the police respond to.

“We work closely with the police to tackle these and also have our own enforcement officers patrolling the city centre.

“We review all our services yearly as part of our budget planning, and feel that at the moment there is nothing to suggest we need to reinstate the role of a park warden.

“We anticipate kicking off a package of improvements to the Dane John in 2019, largely using planning section 106 money from nearby development to enhance the play area and footpaths.

“We also want to develop a new management plan for the park and try to re-establish a Friends group.”