Refugee tells of misery from ‘racist attack’

ASYRIAN refugee says a nuisance neighbour has ‘affected me mentally’ after reportedly being on the end of a racist attack.

The man, who lives in Stockport Homes managed tower block, says his upstairs neighbour also moves furniture around all evening. It’s so noisy, he adds, that he cannot sleep so he cannot work as much as he would like.

That, in turn, has had an impact on his finances.

He told the Express: “He called me a f ***** g r ***** d.

“He is trying to disturb me. It is affecting me mentally, there’s banging and loud music.

“I go to work without sleep. Because of the noise, I cannot sleep so I had to reduce my hours at work which affected me financially.”

The resident says he has reported it to Stockport Homes, but claims they have not ‘taken any actions.’

He added: “I have reported it many times to Stockport Homes and they do not take any actions. I feel desperate every time I report it. I asked them to help me with moving but they did not give me enough [housing] points.

“They did not take any actions to protect me or to stop the noise. I just want to move.”

In response, a spokesperson for the Group said it ‘hate incidents extremely seriously.’ A statement added: “Stockport Homes Group (SHG) takes reports of nuisance and hate incidents extremely seriously and work closely with customers to ensure appropriate action is taken and to offer reassurance. In this particular case SHG have offered additional security measures, noise monitoring equipment and additional support through partner agencies.

“Further complaints of noise nuisance were received and the offending neighbour was served with a Community Protection Notice Warning in April 2022 which prohibits the neighbour from causing any more noise nuisance.

“There have been no further incidents since it was served. SHG are supporting the customer following a request to be rehoused and exploring the most accessible options for him.”

John Bowker, Executive Director of Operations, continued: “Stockport Homes is committed to ensuring safe homes and neighbourhoods as the safety of residents is our paramount concern.

“We take a range of proportionate actions to resolve complaints of antisocial behaviour and in this case will continue to work with our customer should incidents commence again following the Community Protection Notice Warning being served.”

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson confirmed that ‘a report was made’ in relation to the alleged attack, but there ‘are no active proceedings’ in relation to incident.

Anyone with information can report it online at www. gmp.police.uk.