Neighbours of 'crack den' left with PTSD after 'round the clock' abuse and drugs
Neighbours have spoken of their hell at living next door to a flat where drug deals and all-night parties were regular occurrences.
Police shut down the alleged crack den in Middlesbrough for three months after constant complaints from residents in the surrounding flats.
One woman said she had been terrified to learn cops had discovered a gun inside the home, as others spoke of their "mental torture" living near the notorious property.
The town's mayor Andy Preston said neighbours were subjected to "round-the-clock abuse, drug dealing and violence”, Teesside Live reports.
Officers raided the flat last month, uncovering a stash of drugs believed to be cocaine and a firearm.
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The tenant was charged with three other men with possession with intent to supply drugs.
Discarded needles and crack pipes were regularly found around the flats, neighbours said (Teesside Live WS)One resident said sex work was being carried out in broad daylight and that they were regularly finding crack pipes.
Windows were smashed in, dogs were running wild, needles were discarded everywhere, used condoms scattered, and there was even human poo on the green, the woman claimed.
She added: "We have been tortured mentally. I am down with PTSD, stress and anxiety."
Describing her experience, she went on to say: “You wouldn’t believe what we have seen.
"On Christmas day there were queues along the front for drug drop-offs. I didn’t have a Christmas this year, they were fighting, arguing, and taking drugs.
"She was often smoking a crack pipe in the window with no curtains up while the kids were walking past to school. It’s like Shameless around here.
"The dark nights were the worst. The kids have got their balaclavas on, you can’t see their faces so you don’t know who it is. It’s bedlam, it’s like the Bronx."
She also spoke about a worrying time when a girl, aged around 11, had to be rushed to hospital when she stood on a needle, thankfully it didn’t pierce her skin.
Ann-Marie, 46, was also heavily impacted by the nightmare neighbours.
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She was worried about leaving her house as she didn’t know what she would come back to.
She added: "There have been so many times when I have just cried at work. If you haven’t experienced it you don’t realise how much of a nightmare it is. We didn’t know who was coming or going or who was hanging about."
Speaking about the gun that was recovered at the property, she went on to say: "I could have had my head blown off. We were just all on pins."
Another person said the home had attracted drugs and street sex workers to the area more widely.
She spoke about a night when she was off to the bingo – at 7:30pm when kids were playing out – and spotted a woman performing a sex act on a man in broad daylight.
Everyone agreed that the situation was better since the house had been closed down. Ann-Marie, who didn't want to give her last name, said it was "lovely" now and a different place from when the tenant had lived there.
However, some residents claim there are still increased rates of drug dealing in the area as people have now marked it as a hotspot.
One person added: "It’s decent people who have lived on this estate for years. But there are now druggies and alcoholics.
"Our lads want to take the law into their own hands but why should they get locked up for the likes of these."
Inspector Darren Birkett of Cleveland Police said: "This kind of behaviour has a huge impact on the community and makes residents’ lives an absolute misery.
"We will not allow anti-social behaviour or criminality in any form in our communities and we are committed to tackling issues raised by residents."
David Ripley, from Thirteen Housing Group which runs the flats, said that keeping customers safe in their homes and neighbourhoods was a main priority.
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