Street drinking and late-night fights in a Brent town are “making residents’ lives hell”.

People living in Harlesden said they are “fed up” with dealing with anti-social behaviour every day, and have urged the police and council to intervene.

Local residents have spoken of how they feel they have been neglected, with some suggesting they will be left with no choice but to leave the area.

Others described the town centre as “unwelcoming”.

Ruvio Noinoi said Harlesden’s Jubilee Clock Tower, a particular hotspot for anti-social behaviour, has been “taken over” by those drinking in public.

“It’s absolutely disgusting, especially when the sun comes out," he said.

"People sit there drinking from the early hours of the morning.

“There’s rubbish everywhere, I’ve had graffiti sprayed on my door, I’ve had people pee on my doorstep, and they’re always getting into fights. It’s hell for us.”

Sami Azim, who works in Harlesden, added: “You see people falling over, fighting each other. There are cameras but that doesn’t seem to stop them.”

Maggie Cox, from the Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum, spoke of an ongoing campaign to make the town safer and more appealing but said there is “still a long way to go”.

She spoke of how there were concerns about benches in the town centre, which were attracting anti-social behaviour.

She later said there are plans to introduce more police in the area, which will hopefully act as a deterrent or lead to greater enforcement and, ultimately, tackle the main problems.

Brent Council has made Harlesden town centre a “cumulative impact zone”, which means it is more difficult for businesses to obtain alcohol licences in an effort to curb street drinking.

On February 2, the council rejected a newsagent’s bid to sell booze on the grounds there were multiple similar shops in the vicinity.

Local councillor Mili Patel stated: “We do have an issue with street drinking, and this can impact on other crimes. We’ve had to deal with prostitution, littering, all sorts of anti-social behaviour.

“I’m concerned about older people visiting – it should be a welcoming town centre, but we need to clean up the problems.”