Perthshire Advertiser

Getting worse

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time, they have the sirens on. My son has autism and can’t deal with loud sounds and gets very anxious.

“It is really tough to live here. I put flyers out to my neighbours about it and people say they are scared. There are used needles here on the landings.

“It is up to the council to do something about it. Anything they do see doesn’t get taken seriously enough. All the older residents are scared. A lot of flats here have families. Nothing has been done about it but I hope they can get something figured out and soon.”

A PKC spokespers­on said: “We are assisting Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue with their investigat­ions and would encourage residents who see anything suspicious to immediatel­y report it to Police Scotland on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

“Since January we have made significan­t improvemen­ts to Pomarium Flats in order to reassure residents and tackle anti-social behaviour, including installing a sprinkler system in the bin stores, enhancing CCTV coverage and introducin­g 24-hour security cover.

“We have also provided skips for residents to clear out their cellars and have provided informatio­n on fire safety to tenants. Whilst on site at the weekend our caretaker received a report about discarded needles, he immediatel­y searched all landings and stairwells yet no items were found.

“Our caretakers and the security staff are fully trained in the disposal of needles and will remove these immediatel­y.

“We would, however, reassure residents that we have not experience­d such issues in recent months.”

Police inspector Kerry Lynch said: “We are aware of concerns raised by the local community and we are working closely with Perth and Kinross local authority and other partner agencies to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in this area of Perth.

“We have a plan to carry out high visibility patrols and officers on patrol will be engaging with people to discourage anti-social behaviour and disrupt any disturbanc­es.

“Issues reported to police have included vandalism and fire-raising. I would ask that members of the public continue to raise any concerns by calling us on 101.”

Gordon Pryde, Scottish Fire and Rescue Sevrice local senior officer for Perth and Kinross, Dundee and Angus, said: “We have mobilised resources to flats on Pomarium Street in Perth on a number of occasions since December, 2019 to extinguish fires within areas used to store household bins.

“Our priority will always be to prevent harm in our communitie­s and save lives.

“Residents can be assured that we will continue to work closely with the local authority to ensure the safety of all the occupants of these flats.”

 ??  ?? Scare The fire service deals with a blaze at a Pomarium block’s bins
Scare The fire service deals with a blaze at a Pomarium block’s bins
 ??  ?? Fire fears Alice Pearce and partner Tim Dahm
Fire fears Alice Pearce and partner Tim Dahm

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