DORSET Police have been accused of “failing shopkeepers and residents” by a businessman angry that two nasty attacks on his staff have not been investigated.

Staff at Lovett International in Boscombe were left terrified after an unknown man burst in, shouted and screamed obscenities at workers and then pushed everything off a desk.

Just two weeks earlier, the same man had shouted at workers at Lovett’s office at the other end of Christchurch Road.

He is not believed to be a Lovett client and is not known to staff.

Staff reported the attacks to the police immediately and sent them their CCTV footage of the second incident, which occurred last Wednesday, November 12.

But despite daily telephone calls and emails to the police, they still had not visited a week later.

It was only when chief executive Maximillian De Kment went to the press in frustration that the matter received any police attention.

Mr De Kment believes the attacks and lack of police response are symptomatic of Boscombe’s problems.

He said things were now so bad his staff at one Boscombe office had resorted to keeping the door locked.

“It was very intimidating for my staff,” he said.

“The second incident happened at an office containing just three female employees so they are very vulnerable.

“We’ve got perfect CCTV footage but the police aren’t even interested in that.

“Next time he might come in with a knife – what’s the point in the police dealing with it then when I’ve got a fatality on my hands?

“It should be dealt with now before the problem escalates.

“The police are failing shopkeepers and residents alike.

“Our shop is 200 metres from the Dr Who police box, which cost £500,000. That money could have paid for a lot of officers on the streets.

“There is a reason why there are over 80 shops in Boscombe for sale, for rent or empty.

“Winton high street is absolutely rammed because shopkeepers feel safe there.

“People move out of Boscombe because they don’t feel safe here.”

Dorset Police: "We let them down"

Alan Setchell, Neighbourhood Inspector for Boscombe, said: “An officer did call back to explain that we were unable to attend straight away and that someone would be round as soon as possible.

“The incident was mistakenly then reclassified as a lower priority which resulted in a slow response due to officer availability and the number of incidents that had been classified at a higher priority level.

“We clearly let them down on this occasion and I would like to apologise to Mr De Kment and staff at the two addresses for any distress this has caused.

”In relation to the comments regarding the Boscombe Police box I can confirm the project cost around £60,000 with almost all of the funding being secured from local community partners. Dorset Police contributed £1,500 towards the construction of the Boscombe Police Box.”