Punters threatened with alcohol ban during major sporting event as killjoy councillor targets rowdy revellers
CHELTENHAM Festival punters have been threatened with a booze ban during next year’s blockbuster meeting.
A local councillor wants to have ‘dry trains’ entering Cheltenham Spa station for all four days of the biggest event of the year.
Police believe the festival has an ‘alcohol problem’ – with wee-resistant paint being issued to locals last year to stop the blight of public urination and, reportedly, defecation.
Councillor David Willingham wants to go further though and ban booze on trains coming into the area altogether.
Some 135,000 people are thought to use the train station – the main one for the racecourse – during race week.
He said: “People turn up quite early in the morning, inebriated and falling off the trains.
“I’ve tried quite hard to lobby the British Transport Police and the train operating companies to run dry trains.
“They have the power to do it. They do it for football, they do it on some trains on Friday evenings in various parts of the country.
“Can we lobby to have the trains coming into Cheltenham in the early morning as dry?
“People are already a nuisance because they are so drunk before they have got passed Worcester, Bristol or Swindon and various other places.”
Most read in Horse Racing
Punters are estimated to drink some 222,000 pints of Guinness during Cheltenham Festival.
OFFERS OF THE DAY
Tote: Bet £5 Get £20 in Free Bets – CLAIM HERE
Bet UK: Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets and Bonuses – CLAIM HERE
William Hill: Bet £10 Get £40 in Free Bets (MOBILE ONLY)* – CLAIM HERE
Betfair: Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets – CLAIM HERE
Paddy Power: Bet £20 and get it back as Cash if it Loses – CLAIM HERE
Sky Bet: Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Horse Racing Bets – CLAIM HERE
Tote: New customers online only. Place your first bet on racing pools for a minimum of £5 and win or lose you will receive £20 Tote Credit. £20 Tote Credit rewarded as £10 redeemable against racing bets only and £10 redeemable against UK and Irish placepot bets only. Tote Credit cannot be withdrawn, exchanged, or substituted and expires after 7 days. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the bet-slip. Ten to Follow, virtual and football bets do not qualify. Totewin will be the qualifying bet when a Totewin and a Toteplace bet are struck at the same time. New UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. begambleaware.org
Bet UK: New customers only. 7 days to deposit and stake £10 minimum bet at odds of 1.5 or greater to qualify. Max 3x £10 free bets credited on bet settlement. Free bets must be used on 4 or more selections with selection odds of 1.3 or greater. Free bets non-withdrawable and stake not returned with winnings. 7 day expiry. 18+ BeGambleAware.org.
William Hill – 18+. Pla18+. Play Safe. When you sign-up via Mobile using promo code N40 and place a bet of £10/€10 or more we will give you 4x £10/€10 free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet, free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is placed, payment method/player/country restrictions apply. begambleaware.org
Betfair – New Customer offer. Place a min £10 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £30 in Free Bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly 18+ begambleaware.org
Paddy Power: New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any sportsbook market and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £20. Only deposits made using Cards or Apple Pay will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply. Paddy’s Rewards Club: Get a £10 free bet when you place 5x bets of £10+. T&Cs apply. 18+ Begambleaware.org
Sky Bet: 18+NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. FIRST SINGLE & E/W BET ONLY ODDS OF 1/1 OR GREATER. 3 X £10 BET TOKENS. FREE BET STAKES NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS ONLY REDEEMABLE ON HORSE RACING. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. NO FREE BET EXPIRY. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND FURTHER T&CS APPLY. 18+ Begambleaware.org
The meeting is the peak of the National Hunt season as Ireland’s best travel over to Gloucester to take on their British rivals.
Some £1billion is staked during the week as punters from all over gather for a bet and a drink – but police are still concerned about anti-social behaviour.
Police crime commissioner Chris Nelson said: “There’s definitely more we can do but we’re moving in the right direction.
“I think things are better. Anti-social behaviour in that week has gone down, but it’s still a work in progress.
“Alcohol in the town is the single biggest problem the festival has and leads to the issues it has, like anti-social behaviour, misogyny and all the rest of it.
“People do things they wouldn’t do at any other time of the year.
“Society has an alcohol problem so it’s not just the Cheltenham Festival, but it’s probably the biggest single issue of the week and the one all those linked to it have to address.”
A big campaign was launched to get locals to cover their properties with wee-repellent paint.
But the ‘war on wee’ ended up being a damp squib with only a few residents taking part.
Next year’s festival will be held March 12-15 and celebrates 100 years of the Gold Cup.
FREE BETS – GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chases their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org