Libraries in a seaside city are being forced to hire security guards in response to a wave of antisocial behaviour sweeping the area.

Several libraries in Bristol have had to hire security because they are reportedly no longer safe for readers.

It was reported that a recent rise in antisocial behaviour had forced some libraries to change their opening hours.

The shocking trend has been reported in all 27 libraries in Bristol which employ over 180 staff.

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Speaking to the Mail, the head of libraries Kate Murray said the antisocial peaks tended to be outside term time.

She said: “It tends to be in school holidays. It’s challenging because we absolutely want the library to be a safe space for everybody but it can’t be safe if we have too much behaviour that’s not conducive to other customers.

‘We employ a variety of efforts from engaging with PCSOs and the police, to looking at access and changing the opening hours.

“Sometimes we’ve had to close and sometimes we’ve had to put security staff in. We mix it up because things work one time and they don’t work other times.”

Ms Murray said the situation is sometimes so bad that people feel too intimated to come in.

She said the whole situation was “upsetting” for them because libraries are a “universal service” that “should be an open door”.

Ms Murray added it was also important to support the young people in the community who weren’t causing the problems.

Martin Fodor, a councillor for the Green Party, said the problems would only get worse as their budgets were stretched further.

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Mr Fodor explained: “My worry is – and this is the thing that’s hanging over us – that in the next few years, we’re likely to have less money rather than more, fewer libraries rather than the same number.

“It’s a threat that keeps coming back, but it’s never quite happened yet. We’re really lucky we’ve got 27 because we could have had half that number a few years back.

“We’ve held on to them but the hours have shrunk and so has the capacity.”

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