The manager of Clarks shoes in Harrogate has said a serious sexual assault in an alleyway behind the store would 'never have happened' if gates had gone up earlier to block it off.

The alleyway behind James Street and Market Place was the scene of a serious sexual assault last week.  

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Clarks manager Emily Woodcock said that for the past three years nearby businesses had been asking the former North Yorkshire County Council highways department to take action and give permission to put gates up but had got nowhere.

This week gates are being fitted at either end of the narrow alley where the stores have their waste bins. But the gates have not been installed as a result of the recent attack but because the area has long been a hotspot for serious anti-social behaviour and store managers have been calling for them for years.

Ms Woodcock said she told colleagues that one day they were going to find someone dead from an overdose in the alley:

Clarks, she said, offered to help pay for gates but the council wasn't interested. The store had to relocate its fire exit to block up an alcove at the back of its unit that attracted drug users. Suggestions of putting up lighting didn't get heard either.

Ms Woodcock then contacted Harrogate BID which managed to get approval for the gates and has paid for them.

Ms Woodcock said the BID has done a good job but gates were too late to prevent this attack:

Nobody has been arrested in relation to last week's incident, which North Yorkshire Police described as a "serious sexual assault".

Read More: 

• Harrogate woman among 16 housemates on Big Brother


• Bilton’s iron bridge mural suffers worst graffiti attack yet