Neighbours have spoken of their relief after a “nightmare” experience with two tenants from hell who have been evicted from their home.

The house in St James Court, Grangetown, was said to be a den for crack cocaine use with drug dealers frequenting the property also described as carrying ‘Rambo-style’ machete knives down their trouser legs for their own protection.

Missing children were also found at the address, which is now boarded up and vacant.
Anti-social behaviour officers from Redcar and Cleveland Council worked with the police to amass evidence on the nefarious activities inside and outside the chaotic property with Teesside magistrates granting a closure order.

One woman, who lives with her partner and their one-year-old son in an adjacent house,  said she was “ecstatic” at the news.

Read more: Missing youngster in North East council’s care ‘found in Germany’

Accounts shared with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) by people living in the cul-de-sac include:

  • Motorbikers doing ‘donuts’ and cars revving engines at all hours
  • A caravan being set on fire on the front of the property 
  • Crack pipes openly being smoked in the front garden
  • Fighting and regular verbal abuse
  • Items being stolen to fund the buying of drugs and bins being rummaged through
  • A stream of fly-tipped rubbish, attracting rats, along with a ferret in a cage that was left behind following the eviction only to be collected later

The Northern Echo:

It had been occupied by a 52-year-old woman with 48 criminal convictions, while her partner was subject to a warrant for his arrest in July with a search of the property leading to his eventual conviction for possessing heroin and Class C drugs.

One man said: “We are quite a close knit community and they were outcasts – an absolute nightmare.

“I have had many confrontations with them, the amount of times I have had to go out and scream at them.

“I am just f***ing glad they have gone.”

He described how the family struggled to sleep at night and were concerned for their baby son at times, as well as children who would play out in the cul-de-sac.

He said: “There were lots of nights with people screaming and shouting.

“There were streams of people coming in and it was obvious it was all to do with drug dealing.

“I have seen them in the front garden smoking crack and heard them [the tenants] shouting and arguing about who has smoked the last of the crack.

“I believe that they stole everything in there [in the house] in the first place.”

The man’s partner suggested the covid-19 pandemic had hampered efforts by the authorities to remove the tenants.

She said: “Everyone else in this court is perfectly fine.

“I am ecstatic they are no longer here.”

She added: “It is the stupidest story, but she [the female tenant] asked for an extension cord to be put through our window because they had no electricity and they wanted to use ours.

“We said no as you would. 

“Most normal neighbours would just ask for a cup of sugar or some milk.”

Another neighbour living opposite, who has lived in the court for more than 20 years, said: “I have had stuff stolen, I have been egged, I have had abuse from them.

“One time I looked through my window and he [the male occupier] was trying to take one of my wind chimes – he then just threw it up the bank.

“If they found anything they wanted they’d just take it.”
The neighbour said she got used to the noise from the property after a while, although it “could be a nightmare sometimes”.

She said: “We aren’t all bad here and ain’t a bad bunch really.”
Another resident of the court said: “It’s been an absolute nightmare.

“This summer we could not let the kids play out, it’s a relief they can now go out and play again.

“They had no regard for other people’s lives.

“We had cars coming and going revving their engines, motorbikers doing donuts, there was  a farm quad bike in here at one point.

“There was a lot of noise during the night at all hours, fighting, you name it.

“The police would come and go, they’d be arrests and then people would be out again.”

The terms of the closure order granted by magistrates mean the housing association property cannot be occupied for another three months.

Speaking after the eviction, Inspector Neil Deluce from Redcar and Cleveland neighbourhood policing team, said: “It is entirely unacceptable for people to carry out behaviour like this and make the lives of our law-abiding citizens a misery. 

“We will take action against anyone who behaves in this manner; whether that be removing someone from an address or putting them before the courts to answer for their behaviour.

“This successful closure order is another example of where we have listened and worked with partners to act on that information. 

“We would urge anyone suffering from issues such as these to come forward and speak with us, either by calling 101 or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

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