Neighbours fed up of trespassers causing havoc at empty house
THEY CLAIM INTRUDERS HAVE BROKEN WINDOWS, PILED UP BINBAGS AND CAUSED GAS LEAKS
NEIGHBOURS have ‘had enough’ of anti-social behaviour at an empty property which was recently hit by a fire.
People in Whitebeam Gardens, in Bulwell, have spoken out about how a property has become a hotspot for break-ins and fly-tipping, with the house damaged by the frequent intruders.
Those living nearby claim trespassers have broken windows, piled up binbags, caused gas leaks, and more recently started a fire in the property’s garden. One mother said her children were frightened to sleep because of the break-ins over the last year.
Sam Sloane, 40, who lives on Whitebeam Gardens, said the neighbourhood was sick of problems at the property. “We have had enough of all of it,” Ms Sloane said.
“There’s always people breaking in and stealing lead and copper I think. It is a health and safety issue with people going in there.
“A lot of people walk down there in the alleyway next to it. I walk my dogs around there and it is dangerous. I would not walk down there on my own.”
A concerned Whitebeam Gardens resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “No one’s there, it is vacant at the minute, it has been for a year. I’ve found people in there, there has been drug use in there, they’ve gone in and ripped stuff out to the point where there was a gas leak and it had to be capped.
“The windows are smashed in. The landlord has boarded it up but it keeps being ripped off. I caught drug users in there and then an hour later kids were back in there.
“I’ve got young children and they are frightened to go to sleep because every time they hear a noise they think someone is in there.
“It’s putting me off going out of my house or going away because of the drug users that go in there – and it’s not safe for kids. I don’t know why they keep going in there.”
Frank Bowles, 81, from Bulwell, said: “It is a sorry state next to this house. The bags of rubbish are just left about and the fence has been pushed over as well.
“I don’t know anything about people going in there, but the windows are smashed and there’s no one living in there.”
Police have been called to the property multiple times over the last year.
Sergeant Mark Marriott, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We have received a number of reports regarding anti-social behaviour and damage caused to a vacant derelict property in Whitebeam Gardens, Bulwell.
“We have increased patrols around the site and we will take robust action against anyone involved in criminality of this kind at that location.
“Our priority is to keep people safe, so it is concerning to receive reports of people risking their own safety by entering the building. I’d urge people to please stay away and stay safe.
“I’d also like to remind the people involved in these types of incident that entering someone’s land or property without permission is a criminal offence, and anyone involved in such criminality will be pursued and prosecuted.”
On Monday, July 18, as the UK’S heatwave continued, firefighters were called to the property where bags of rubbish in a supermarket trolley had been set alight.
The fire spread to the property’s fence and left neighbours frantically calling the emergency services.
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We attended a fire in the open at Whitebeam Gardens, Bulwell on Monday, July 18, at 11.36pm. A shopping trolley with rubbish in it was on fire and had spread to a fence. Stockhill fire crew attended.”
The Post attempted to contact the property’s landlord for comment.