People living in fear of anti-social behaviour have blasted the housing association which manages the block of flats where they live.

Residents of Chartwell Court in Broomhill Walk, Woodford Green enlisted the help of their MP Iain Duncan Smith last October in their attempt to have a woman evicted who they claim is making their lives intolerable.

They say the woman, who has lived in the block for 20 years, is loud, abusive and entertains a stream of drunken visitors who smear blood and excrement on walls, litter corridors with drug paraphernalia and threaten people.

The front door to the block is broken after repeated break-ins, and some residents say they are too scared to leave their flats for fear of being attacked.

At a meeting this morning attended by Mr Duncan Smith, Redbridge police and officers from the Council’s  Housing and ASB teams, Adam Brown from The Home Group Housing Association, faced angry questions from residents over why the woman had not been evicted.

Percival Kuranchie, 74, who is blind and suffers from prostate cancer, said: “I cannot go downstairs on my own because I am worried I might tread in faeces and the lifts are regularly covered in urine.

“I feel helpless and miserable, yet when I call Homegroup to try and get action, I have to press buttons to get to speak to people who won ‘t even give me their names.”

Mr Brown told residents Home Group had attempted to work with the woman to modify her behaviour but efforts had been unsuccessful and that witness statements were now being gathered ahead of a possible eviction.

Faced with questions about the front door, which residents say has been broken for more than a year, he said it could not be fixed until the source of a short circuit with the intercom system had been located.

That did not satisfy Sue Jackson, 53, who lives on the ground floor.

She testified in court against another man who was evicted from the block and jailed after racially abusing her.

She said: “His sentence finishes soon and I am terrified that he will come back and attack me.

“I am on anti-depressants, sleeping tablets. Someone broke the lock of my front door a few weeks ago. I feel seriously threatened, yet you won’t fix this door.”

Mr Duncan Smith said he would contact the chief executive of Home Group to ensure the door was replaced immediately and he demanded that the eviction process be speeded up.

Natasha Lewis, 36, who lives with her six-year-old son across the corridor from the woman agreed to give evidence at a Victim Panel organised by Redbridge council.

That will see representatives of ASB teams, the police, Homegroup  and other relevant agencies summoned to appear in an effort to speed up the eviction process and find alternative accommodation for the woman causing the problems.

Miss Lewis said: “I am happy to go to this panel and give evidence in court because I feel if I leave it to Home Group nothing will ever get done.

“I don’t know what else to do. I can’t live with the noise, abuse and threats for the rest of my life.”

The meeting was also attended by Reverend Annie McTighe of All Saints Woodford Wells, who has been working with the woman.

She said: “She lives with demons in her head and she needs help sorting that out. I feel we are making progress with her, but we have got to the stage where she needs to go. My worry is what happens to her if she is evicted from here.”
 

Mr Duncan Smith said he would contact the chief executive of Home Group to ensure the door was replaced.