Emergency services today said they were doing “all they can” to tackle violent and criminal behaviour and make Shrewsbury safer at weekends.

Organisers of the town’s Pubwatch scheme said violent crime fell 16 per cent in the town in 2009 compared with the previous 12 months. Assaults on ambulance staff in the region are at an all time high – but the service said it also has one of the highest prosecution rates in the UK.

The fire service is tackling another problem associated with weekend partying – people cooking while under the influence of drink or drugs.

The organisations’ comments came after Shropshire councillor Miles Kenny, who represents the Underdale ward, said people walking home from clubs in the town were vandalising cars and causing trouble.

Councillor Kenny said: “There are only 400 police officers in Shropshire and they are spending time patrolling town centres and then dealing with other incidents.

“The ambulance is dealing with injuries and illness from alcohol and the fire service is dealing with crashes which may have been caused by late night behaviour.”

Richard Ewels, West Mercia Police spokesman, said the force was pleased with how Pubwatch and policing in the town had resulted in a drop in trouble following a “zero tolerance” campaign.

He said: “The situation in Shrewsbury is no worse than it is any comparative town in the area and Pubwatch has issued some very positive figures recently.”

A spokesman for Pubwatch added: “If people approach door staff and are abusive to them, even before entry the door staff will inform CCTV operators and police about a potential problem.

“The police will despatch somebody to that location and if that person continues to be argumentative or drunk and aggressive they will be arrested for being drunk and disorderly or committing a breach of the public order act.”