The owner of Freddies Bar in St. George's said he may be forced to close down because he is so sickened by the behaviour of hooligans who gather outside his pub.

Allan Powell said the louts are killing St. George's with their drug-dealing, begging and foul and racist language.

He said the youths had been congregating outside his bar in King's Square making his life a misery for about five years harassing customers and visitors, but Police had done nothing, despite him showing officers video footage of the incidents.

He has barred the youths from his bar and has registered letters confirming this yet he still has to throw them out every day, he said.

When asked by The Royal Gazette last night if he would consider closing up, he said: "Oh, definitely. If I have to close the bar, so be it.

"When those gaming machines go, I won't be making enough profit for me to warrant putting up with those guys who are unemployed but seem to be earning more money than me.

"I have put up bars, floodlit the area, installed security cameras, yet every day I have to throw these guys out, even though I have registered letters saying they are banned.

"For five years they have been outside my premises swearing, harassing my customers, uttering racial slurs and foul language, bumming money and cigarettes and selling drugs. I've witnessed it all.

"There is no point keeping my nice listed building up to scratch because they will vandalise it.

"Are you going to sit out on my balcony overlooking the square with your wife and a nice bottle of wine listening to this? It's 'F**k this,' 'F**k the white guy,' and 'Get me a joint'.

"If you do come, you are not going to come back, no matter how good my food and service is. You're not going to put up with it. Half of my friends and customers won't come here.

"It's killing St. George's, not just me. It's not safe to walk the streets because it's a case of who's going to be gang robbed this weekend.

"It's not, when will the next incident be, it's who will be next.

"When I was growing up, you didn't dare, because the Police would take you apart. You'd be finished.

"Now the Police just laugh at them and walk away and they laugh at the Police.

"The Police have been given video tapes of the incidents we've put up with, but they've said the picture quality is not up to much even though we know who it is and they know who it is.

"Why should I spend any more money on this? It's a World Heritage Site, but who is going to come to it if they are going to be harassed and bummed and robbed?

"I don't understand why they (Government) can't have enough Police when they can have big cars and ferries and the business people are being killed by the youth on the street.

"Maybe they should have saved $5 million on the Berkeley contract instead of wasting the tax-payers' dollars on their friends."'

Police issued a statement saying the problems at King's Square were being addressed and that Police will target trouble spots when they receive specific information.

The statement said this would result in a higher Police visibility in the Old Town which should deter crime.