A Paceville resident was shocked to the core one day last week when a man broke into her house at about 2am while she was asleep.

“My dog started barking and it woke me up. The next thing I knew, a man was lying naked on my floor and throwing up,” said the 20-year old woman who was alone at the time of the incident.

Terrified, she locked herself in her room and called her father. He called the police and they arrested the intruder. The incident happened on Monday.

“The area is not safe. Groups of people loiter around, day and night. I’m now terrified of staying at my own home alone,” the woman, who preferred not to be named, said.

She said that during the summer months, especially over the weekends, a number of police officers could be seen patrolling the area but the same could not be said for the rest of the year.

The area is not safe. Groups of people loiter around, day and night. I’m now terrified of staying at my own home alone

“In winter and on weekdays, I only see the occasional policeman around. If I’m walking home and it’s late, I don’t feel safe,” she said.

Getting to the nearby car park is also a problem and she has often had people banging on her car as she drove by.

In recent months, safety at Paceville was once again placed under scrutiny, especially after the attack by a knife-wielding man in September.

St Julian’s mayor Karl Gouder said the council was working closely with the police and the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security to try and make Paceville safer for both residents and visitors.

“There are now about 16 police officers covering the Paceville area. Before there were only six.

“It’s an improvement but we are still pushing for more,” Mr Gouder said.

Most crimes, he said, were committed in the area around St George’s Bay and in front of the building that used to be the Axis nightclub.

Meanwhile, government plans for a mobile police station and clinic seem to be on hold.

“Having a mobile police station will not solve all of the problems in Paceville but, at least, they would be there,” he said.

A ministry spokeswoman said talks on the mobile police station between all stakeholders were still under way.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.