SEATS at the entrance to a much-loved Swindon park have been removed by the council following complaints from residents.

The benches were at the entrance to the avenue leading into the Lawns park in Old Town.

Although they were well-used, problems with drunks and rowdy revellers congregating after dark were causing a nuisance for those living nearby.

Residents in Horder Mews, which overlooks the site, did not wish to be identified, but one said: "It gets a bit riotous at three o'clock in the morning, especially on Thursdays, with drunks coming back from the clubs.

"They accumulate here at the entrance to the park, eating their pizzas and kebabs.

"The benches were a pleasant place to sit during the day, but not at night. There have been a few druggies here, and I'm told that people shoot-up nearby."

Another resident said: "The benches are not there because we didn't want them there."

The removal of the benches may please some, but others see it as a sad loss.

The move has caused difficulties for Kewal Puri, 72, who lives nearby with his 58-year-old wife Nirmal.

He said: "My wife uses a chair seat and cannot walk far. We generally go out to the Lawns and she needs a place to sit, but the bench has gone. Old people want to sit in the sunshine in an open atmosphere, but there is nothing around here.

"They should put the benches back. I'm all right because I can walk but people who are frail need somewhere to sit."

John Danby is the senior instructor at the Leigh Childs Blackbelt Academy, which used to overlooked the bench.

He said: "People used to sit on the bench, sometimes winos, but they never caused any problems. Whole families sat on the grass there quite happily."

Richard Woloszynski, 53, who works nearby, said: "I miss being able to go out and have a sandwich in a park in a civilized town.

"A couple of drunks shouldn't spoil it for the rest of us."

Valerie Deacon, 40, works in an estate agents' office opposite the park entrance.

She said: "It wasn't a nice place to eat, anyway.

"There were always people who ate there and then left their rubbish behind. You do get drunks lurking around over there."

A spokesman for the council said: "We do not keep a record of how many benches we have. The benches were removed from Lawns after requests from residents."