Residents in Fishponds and Speedwell who brought misery to their neighbours through their drug use and anti-social behaviour have been evicted.
Crack house closure legislation was used to evict a 61-year-old man from a property owned by Bristol City Council on Cunningham Gardens in Fishponds and a 48-year-old man from a privately owned property on Altringham Road in Speedwell, Avon & Somerset police said.
At separate hearings on 27th March at Bristol Magistrates’ Court, the men were told that they had to vacate the properties and nobody would be allowed in or out for at least three months. Both properties have since been boarded up.
The problems at Cunningham Gardens have been going on for about a year with residents complaining about visitors coming and going at all hours of the day, cars driving around the area anti-socially, littering, and shouting and swearing in the street.
Last month police carried out a warrant at the property and found drugs paraphernalia and evidence of class A drugs use. When they went to the property to serve notice on the tenant, they found a known drug-user loitering in the foyer who was searched and found in possession of a crack pipe.
A police spokesman said: “The issues at Altringham Road have been going on for several months, with residents telling us about frequent visitors to and from the property on an almost daily basis, often late at night, many of whom were noisy and sometimes aggressive, with their behaviour waking local people up.
“Some local residents were fearful of these visitors as they would bang and shout at the door of the property or would sometimes knock on the wrong door by mistake.
“On 28th January we executed a warrant at the property on Altringham Road and found over 60 wraps of suspected class A drugs. The 48-year-old-man, who has now been evicted, was arrested for possession with intent to supply class A drugs and is currently on police bail whilst investigations continue.”
PC James Wasiak, whose beat covers Cunningham Gardens, said: “These men have made the lives of local residents, many of whom are elderly or families with children, a misery.
“It is because of the good relationship our PCSOs have with the local community that we have been able to build up such strong cases.
“I would encourage anyone who is suffering from anti-social behaviour in their area to come forward and talk to their local beat team. They can call 101 or report online. We want to hear from you and will do all we can to restore harmony in the areas we serve.”
