Pools of vomit on the street, violent crime and drunks hassling frightened passers-by for money.

They’re not the scenes most tourists would anticipate when they take a trip to historic Rochester, but it was the picture that emerged as police pushed to strengthen controls of alcohol sales at one Rochester shop this week.

Medway’s hearing licensing panel met on Tuesday at Gun Wharf, where they heard evidence that sales of high strength beers and ciders at City Minimart in Cazeneuve Street, Rochester, had exacerbated street drinking and associated problems with anti-social behaviour.

The panel heard the shop had twice sold alcohol to 14-year-old volunteers in a Trading Standards “test purchase”, and that members of the public had complained about drinkers and beggars causing a nuisance outside the premises.

Officers had also observed a man buy a drink for a drunk street drinker – who had been refused service in another shop due to being intoxicated.

A statement from PCSO Christopher McCann went before the panel which said: “As the local PCSO for Rochester East I have witnessed on several occasions instances where the City Minimart has served super strength lagers and ciders to males who I know to be street drinkers.

“I have observed street drinkers who have been intoxicated enter City Minimart and exit with cans and bottles of super strength alcohol.

“They then congregate on the green opposite where they shout abuse at passers-by.

“Residents as a result feel concerns for their safety and believe that it brings crime and disorder to the area.”

Statements from residents spoke of constantly being confronted with people begging, drunks unable to walk straight, smashed windows, vomit on the pavement and intimidating crowds.

“Living in Rochester and using the High Street regularly I have become used to this but it is unpleasant and certainly does not give a good impression to tourists and visitors,” added one.

Speaking on behalf of City Minimart, solicitor Gill Sherratt said the shop had responded to the Trading Standards investigation, obtaining extra personal licences for staff and improving training.

“Trading Standards decided a review was not necessary as we had done everything they asked and more,” said Ms Sherratt, arguing evidence obtained by that investigation was therefore irrelevant.

She said the police had failed to work alongside Piratheepan Kulanayagam and instead simply tried to “throw the book at him.”

“We are not saying there are not problems with drinking and anti-social behaviour but if we are going to restrict a store from selling alcohol, it isn’t appropriate to do so just because it’s desirable to do so,” she added.

Police had been pushing to ban the shop from selling beers and ciders over 5.5%, remove Mr Kulanayagam as the designated premises supervisor (DPS), and suspend the licence for three months, but the panel agreed less stringent controls.

Mr Kulanayagam was allowed to remain as DPS but the shop was ordered not to sell beer or cider over 6.5%, and the licence was suspended for 14 days.

The panel also ordered that no single cans or bottles should be sold, and that a minimum of four should be purchased – a measure believed to deter drinkers who preferred to buy one drink at a time in an alcohol control zone.

Mr Kulanayagam confirmed he would appeal against the decision, adding: “It’s not fair. It’s going to be very hard on business.”

The licensing panel also turned down an application to sell alcohol from Euro Foods in Chatham High Street - which was banned from selling alcohol earlier this year after reports that street drinkers were being sold high-strength booze.

The hearing heard evidence of anti-social behaviour around the shop and it was said alcohol sales had continued since the ban - a point owner Stoll Donchev denied.

He in turn accused the police of failing to do their job.

“You want me to have detailed plan to deal with street drinkers, when I said I won’t be selling to them,” he told the hearing. “Do the authorities have a plan to deal with them?

“I haven’t seen anything done apart from reports written about them.

“I’ve never seen the police challenging them.

“They only appeared when these benches arrived outside my shop a couple of years ago - the problem grew because they are unchallenged and think they are invincible.

“No authority is talking to them.”

He said the continued ban of alcohol sales would have a devastating impact on his business.

On Rochester High Street, Bob Peters, owner of City Books, said drinkers were continuing to have a negative impact, but controls on alcohol sales had improved the situation.

He said: “One or two in the High Street are genuinely homeless but the greater majority are just a bunch of bone idle good-for-nothings, quite capable of working and quite happy to spend their time getting drunk at the expense of people who are silly enough to give them money.

“It impacts in so much that it conveys the wrong impression.

“People are rather surprised when they come here - they think it’s not what you expect in Rochester. One lady recently said I can’t believe how many beggars you have in the High Street.

“Word gets around that if you go to Rochester it’s full of beggars. I do hear comments every so often.

“It’s a bit annoying when they’re pestering foreign visitors in particular. One visitor from Holland said they couldn’t believe how many beggars there were.”

He said restrictions of alcohol sales at nearby Castle Food and Wine had made a positive effect, but believed the police should do more - such as using the Vagrancy Act to arrest people. “You can’t expect the shopkeepers to do the police’s work,” he added. “The crowd that were causing problems have gone, but as far as I’m aware they’re in Chatham. We’re OK for a few weeks but then you get a fresh lot.”

And he added: “I enjoy the odd Carlsberg Special Brew. It’s a nice flavour. But these street drinkers will drink one every half an hour.”