Published: Wednesday, 14th May, 2008 12:00
Residents in plea to lock out yobs
By Jamie MacDonald
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Residents claim the absence of a security door in their close following a fire earlier this year has made them a target for yobs.
Pic by: David Robertson
BELEAGUERED residents of a Sauchie close intimidated by youths drinking and causing trouble on their stairs are appealing for help in dealing with anti-social behaviour.
Over a period of months the people living in the close on Main Street have regularly had to deal with drunk youths intimidating them when they leave their homes, noise late into the night and people urinating inside the close.
In January, the Advertiser reported on a maliciously started fire in a storage cupboard in the close which resulted in the 13 residents being evacuated.
And this week another storage cupboard was broken into with weights and a children’s trampoline stolen.
Resident Kelly Anderson said, “It has got to the stage where none of us go out on our own anymore.
“On a Friday and Saturday especially its a nightmare round here and afterwards It’s left to us to clear it all up – the empty cans, the urine and what’s left over from their drugs.”
The primary issue for residents is that the lock on the main door is broken and there is no way to stop anyone coming into the building, often resulting in over 20 youths sitting on the stairs and getting drunk.
Residents claim it has not been fixed since before the fire in January – a claim refuted by Clackmannanshire Council.
Kelly said, “We just want a secure door to feel safe at home. Because of this my 11-year-old son is terrified to sleep on his own – he has to share a room with his big brother.”
Louise Hunter, another resident in the close, said, “A security door would sort this out, we have even offered to get a yale lock instead of a buzzer system.
“At first they said they didn’t have the funding as they were waiting on the budget for this year but they have it now. Other closes have been fixed so why not us?”
The claim by residents that the security door has not been fixed is disputed by the council’s housing operations manager, Jennifer Queripel.
She said, “Our records show that we have repaired the door entry twice since January and a new order to repair the door again is currently being processed.
“This door entry has been repaired many times and further repairs will be made if required.”
Ms Queripel added the council was looking into upgrading existing door entry systems across the county, with the timescale being dependent on the budget.
Ms Queripel went on, “We share residents’ frustration at the ongoing anti-social behaviour problem and ask that they work with us to find a solution. We would appeal to any residents or members of the community who see property in the area being damaged to telephone the police or the council immediately.”
Louise said that after the fire community wardens – based at the police call point across the road – checked up on the close regularly although it had now tailed off.
She added, “When we phone the police we are told to go and see the wardens. Even when they do come over the youths run off out the back door and then just come back later.”
Chief Inspector Brian Rennie, Deputy Area Commander of Clackmannanshire, said, “We take complaints of anti social behaviour extremely seriously as we know the effects it can have on the quality of life of our communities.
“We urge people to contact us when these incidents arise and we work in partnership with other agencies to tackle these problems.”
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