With fears over knife crime and sexual harassment, is Canterbury still a safe place to go out after dark?

Part-time bartender Lotte Brundle describes some of the shocking things she has seen and heard...

Recently Canterbury at night has taken on a completely different atmosphere than in previous years.

Born and bred here, this city has been my home for 23 years.

Growing up, I never felt worried in the city after dark. But as I’ve grown older, my friends and I agree, the bracing night-time walk to the taxi-rank at the top of town has taken on a more sinister quality.

Due to my part-time job as a bartender, the journey home from work tends to be one made in the early hours. And this is a frightening prospect.

With violent crime and sexual offences on the rise in the city, I can see why my parents are worried about my 3am commute.

"Once, when serving drinks to a table of young men at work, I overheard them debating whether or not they would rape me..."

Fortunately, I’ve never experienced physical violence while walking through Canterbury at night. Sexual harassment, however, is a completely different ball game.

After years of vulgar and often threatening catcalling from drunken men on the high street after hours, I’ve learned to question every skirt length before a night out, and to deliberate carefully between heels that match my outfits or those that are easy to run in.

Despite catcalling being unacceptable regardless of a woman’s choice of clothing, work uniform - you’d think - should be safe from such dangers.

At the cocktail bar where I work our uniform consists of a white-collared shirt, black tie, black braces, and a pair of black trousers or a skirt: professional, modest and respectable.

But once my manager was told by a male customer that she looked like a “slutty schoolgirl” when wearing a pleated skirt.

Another time, when serving drinks to a table of young men at work, I overheard them debating whether or not they would rape me. It’s comments like these that shake me to my core.

Protected by the security staff, these incidents, although upsetting, are not overtly worrying while I am at work. Unpleasant customers can always be removed; we are safe from any real danger.

Once out on the street, however, the harassment and implied violence sticks in my mind. Unpoliced and without the paid security of the bar, on the high street at night I often worry for my safety.

The bar has radios so the security staff can communicate with us, as well as other security stationed along the high street.

One night we heard over the radio to be careful as a young person was roaming the streets brandishing a knife, and threatening passers-by.

Since this incident, I now get lifts home. On the occasions that I can’t, I make sure to walk with my colleagues towards the taxi rank further away from my house, instead of taking the shortcut alone.

Saving a few extra pounds on the taxi fare simply isn’t worth the risk.

The Canterbury McDonald's, in particular, made records in 2019 as Kent’s most dangerous: a moniker no one wishes to be bestowed upon their local Maccies.

With a record number of violent crimes reported, whenever I see a crowd forming or hear raised voices by the fast-food chain, I am always anxious to walk by quickly, without drawing attention to myself.

Sales executive Becca Jenkins, 24, worked as a Just Eat driver just after the first lockdown in Canterbury. She recalls how “late at night the only place open, or that you’d get any orders from, would be the McDonald's on the high street".

"I stopped doing it [Just Eat] because I’d get drunk men shouting at me - homeless people, and just rowdy people - coming up to me screaming," she says.

“One night this really drunk guy started shouting at me that he was going to kill me because I was a woman."

This time of year, I am reminded of last October's epidemic of spiking in clubs nationwide, including in Canterbury, and Club Chemistry boss Matthew Jones-Roberts’ comment: “Venues don't want spiking to occur and we spend hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds every year to try and stop measures that people may take to interrupt someone's night."

With Chemistry goers tottering around in heels, precariously traipsing down the cobbled street in their pilgrimage towards a taxi home – many too drunk to walk in a straight line – I often soberly wonder if they will reach their destination safely.

Or if me having my guard up will mean a devastating assault will instead befall a drunker, more vulnerable woman walking home alone.

Needless to say, “interrupt someone’s night” felt like quite the understatement by the boss of Club Chemistry, the most popular venue for students in the city.

The real risks of sexual assault that face people spiked - either orally or by injection - in a nightclub are far more devastating than an ‘interrupted’ night out.

I fear his comment represents a largely held attitude towards the dangers of spiking: a dangerous ignorance, indifference, and negligence.

In 2018, Canterbury was described as “a Jekyll and Hyde city which turns from sophisticated and welcoming during the day to sleazy and intimidating at night” by art historian Dr Michael Paraskos, who was speaking after a visit to see his mother at the weekend.

“Of course, there are never any police about.” Paraskos said - a fact that I can’t help but agree with.

In the daytime, as shoppers sprawl the city, and picnic-goers flock to the picturesque postcard location of Westgate Gardens, a friendly police presence is often seen in Canterbury.

But, as night falls, this all but vanishes, leaving the city in the hands of privately owned security companies who are paid to police individual establishments and their customers’ safety – not the people of the city as a whole.

Becca also used to work in a restaurant in Canterbury in 2018 and recalls an incident she experienced while walking to her car with a colleague one night after closing.

“We were walking through a road, and to the left-hand side there were big bins. As we were walking past, I saw, out of the corner of my eye - it looked like there was a mannequin by the bins," she says.

"I did a double-take because I thought it was weird. There was a dark figure, hiding in the bins.

“When I turned around there was a man dressed all in black. He had a balaclava on, black hoodie, and, as we were turning around, he was just standing right in the middle of the road as we were walking up.

“We then picked up the pace a little bit. As we turned around, he started chasing us. We then ran to my car and managed to get in.

"We drove off and called the police. It was just really scary.

“After that people [from work] had to walk me back to my car after closing because I didn’t feel safe any more.”

She adds that it happened to three other girls that week. And that “the guy never got caught”.

But not everyone finds the city "unsafe".

Part-time cocktail bartender Elena Stain, 21, who is studying business psychology at the University of Kent, comments: "I walk through the centre every night after work and find that if you ignore the drunkards and don’t look at them they don’t give me much trouble.”

Although Elena adds she was once accosted by a group of “10-year-olds who thought they could chat slurs to me and my friends”.

So how safe really is Canterbury after dark?

Chief Inspector Mark Hedges, the Canterbury District Commander for Kent Police, insists local officers maintain a presence in the city 24 hours a day.

"It is important to Kent Police that people feel safe in Canterbury both in the day and at night time," he says.

"For that reason, we have been working with the city council to increase CCTV camera coverage and lighting around the city, and have held numerous events speaking to women about their concerns and how we may be able to help."

He says the force is also working with the city's universities, business group BID and local authority to keep people safe and raise awareness of the experiences of women and girls.

Meanwhile, the council's CCTV operators monitor the area 24 hours a day and alert police to incidents.

"Officers from Canterbury's community safety unit are in the city centre both during the day and to assist with the night time economy, and we have recently deployed extra officers at peak times, such as weekend evenings," Ch Insp Hedges continues.

"Our local policing teams are also working 24 hours a day; responding to emergency calls, seeking wanted offenders and maintaining a presence in areas where concerns have been raised."

I distinctly remember feeling a lot safer in 2016 in the dimly lit city streets than I do in 2022.

As a lifelong resident, it’s saddening to not feel as safe in your hometown as you once did.

I only hope, with the return of students, that Canterbury at night will be a place they can go out safely, and without worry. But I won’t be taking any chances.