'Our lives are made hell by noisy yob neighbours affecting our mental health', say Dudley Council tenants
People living with the blight of anti-social behaviour say their lives are being made ‘hell’ by noisy neighbours.
A pair of Dudley Council tenants, who asked not to be identified, told how they are living next door to a family that make their lives a misery.
Loud parties, drug taking and late-night drinking around bonfires in the grounds of their residential block are just some of the things the residents say they are having to cope with.
The pair told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It has been going on for a year, it has been nothing but hell. It is affecting our mental health.
“You feel trapped – like you are stuck with it and there is no way out. You feel anxious and think ‘what is going to happen tonight?’
“We took it to the council but they don’t seem to care, what that says is ‘you can do what you want’.
“If it is happening to us it is happening to other people - we just want justice for people like us.”
Dudley Council has an anti-social behaviour (ASB) policy which says it has a duty as a landlord to respond to bad behaviour and says: “No one should have to suffer from ASB, and so we are committed to taking positive action to tackle it.
“All reports of ASB will be treated seriously and dealt with professionally, using an evidence based and proportionate approach.”
A business owner in Sedgley has been taking a positive approach to dealing with problems in her area.
Laura Smith from the Cosy Bean cafe in the Alderwood Precinct said: ”We have experienced a lot of littering – we spent a lot of time picking up litter and doing community days.
“We have children at night littering, we have a park and open ground and we have a lot of youngsters on mopeds and in balaclavas going in and out.
“A couple of shops had eggs thrown at their windows and disruption in the shops, the bins were set alight which is why they were taken away.”
Mrs Smith, aged 31, is worried bad behaviour around the precinct may intimidate people and make them reluctant to visit businesses.
She said: “We have a lot of the older generation around the area, people might feel intimidated and not be able to come out by themselves because of groups of people hanging around outside the shops – not knowing who they are going to be facing.
“We have tried to build a bit of a community and make it a safe space, that is definitely an area for some investment.
“The precinct looks quite tired, it would be nice for it to look a bit more inviting and be an area for someone to be able to pop out on their own and feel confident.”
