GUN POINTED AT ME BUT OFFICERS TOOK 3 DAYS
PENSIONER Leslie Carden was terrified when his neighbour pointed a gun at him – but police took three days to come out and investigate.
Mr Carden, 65, has made repeated complaints about the noise coming from the flat above his for the past three years.
In June, he reached the end of his tether. He went to speak to his neighbour John Smith and found the front door of his property ajar.
To his horror, Mr Carden was confronted with his neighbour, lying on a sofa, pointing what appeared to be a pistol at him. He said: ‘I’m not scared of many things but when someone points a gun at you, any gun, it doesn’t matter what it is, you fear for your life.’
Mr Carden returned home and agonised for 90 minutes over whether to call 999.
‘I thought calling the police would cause more trouble but my wife was so scared there was no option,’ he said.
But astonishingly, officers did not come out for three days. Police came to the flat only after Mr Carden and his wife Linda complained in person at Medway police station.
Mrs Carden, 73, said: ‘I don’t want this sort of worry at my time of life.’
Medway district commander Chief Inspector Rob Marsh said police did not respond immediately because the call was made 90 minutes after the incident and the caller was ‘safe’.
He said officers later identified the weapon as an airsoft gun, a legal replica firearm which fires plastic pellets. The Cardens and other residents have made numerous complaints about Mr Smith to Southern Housing Group which lease the properties in Chatham, Kent. The Cardens were told to keep a diary of incidents, but say no action has been taken.
Mr Smith said the residents were ‘always making up horrible stories about me’, and claimed the gun was a toy from Poundland.
A spokesman for Southern Housing Group said: ‘Our priority is the safety and security of our residents and we take anti-social behaviour seriously.’