Neil Wilby Media

A potentially big story was missed yesterday by Neil Wilby Media despite it occurring almost under their noses.

A miscarriage of justice meeting in Bradford was followed by a meeting in Wetherspoons with a journalist colleague in Leeds City station, over a quick bite to eat and a pint. Less than 300 yards away posters had been pasted in two of the city’s main shopping thoroughfares, Kirkgate and Briggate, claiming that the locations were permitted “crack and heroin zone”.

The authentic looking signs, which bear the logos of both West Yorkshire Police and Leeds City Council, state that the “sale and use” of those Class A drugs is “authorised” in the surrounding area.

The local police have dissociated themselves from the signs, which they said have been posted illegally. Although they have not, as yet, identified the offence.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “We are aware of fake posters that have been illegally posted at locations in and around Leeds city centre and are making further enquiries.”

The press office at Leeds City Council has also been contacted for comment.

One working hypothesis is that the posters may have been posted by business owners ‘satirising issues with drug-taking in the city centre’.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service, funded by the BBC, reported last year that two Briggate shop owners had claimed the area was a hotspot for substance abuse when objecting to the opening of a new wine bar.

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Page last updated: Thursday 30th November, 2023 at 1005 hours

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