Elderly Greenock residents live in fear from neighbour

The people living in a Cornhaddock Street flats are speaking out for the first time about the nightmare they faced from an anti social neighbour allocated the flat by River Clyde Homes (RCH).

They told how they endured all-night parties, threats, drug taking and abuse directed at those living in the close.

But Councillor John Crowther, who stepped up to support the neighbours, told the Tele that the residents were unable to get RCH to take action until they took the matter into their own hands and had doorbell cameras installed.

Cornhaddock Street resident Jim Hall (Image: George Munro) In one alarming case, there is footage showing two people repeatedly battering the door of a vulnerable resident, demanding he opens the door and let them in.

The Tele was told that one elderly man ended up with people repeatedly invading his flat, taking his money, food and using his phone.

There were also what appeared to be images of drug-taking in the close, while it is alleged that a vulnerable resident was targeted by people from the flat.

Now the residents fear that they could face the same horrific ordeal all over again if and when a new tenant moves in, and are calling for the authorities to act to put better safeguards in place to protect people from anti social neighbours.

Cornhaddock Street (Image: George Munro)

One of the affected residents, Jim Hall, said: "I am 75 years old. I have lived here for 62 years and I have never, ever anything like this ever before.

"I was absolutely terrified. I wouldn't open my door.

"It was frightening. There was all sorts going on all night, with people shouting and banging. There was drugs. The smell would knock you out.

"We never had anything like this before.  This went on for three years and River Clyde Homes did nothing about it.

"Nobody seemed to be able to do anything about it.

"But this could happen all over again."

Retired health and safety officer Brian Mitchell, 77, has lived in his Cornhaddock Street flat for about 12 years.

He said: "This all started in 2021 when the River Clyde Homes tenant passed away and they let out the flat.

"The problems started almost immediately and only ever went away when the tenant was away for periods of time.

"But then they would come back and it would be as bad as ever.

"We could never get proper answers from River Clyde Homes about who should be living there.

"I don't scare easy, but it was a real ordeal for us all."

In one horrifying case, one of the block's most vulnerable residents was targeted by people partying in the flat, taking over his house, using his food, phone and taking money.

Brian, along with other residents, went to River Clyde Homes, Inverclyde Council and Police Scotland in a bid to get action.

But he said: "River Clyde Homes were told what was going on but they never did anything. We had meetings with them all but I was very disappointed in the action taken.

"The only person who did anything for us was Councillor John Crowther. He was a great support.

"It was such a quiet place. They were great flats to stay in, and it has been quiet since they moved out."

But the residents are now living in fear the same thing could happen again.

Councillor Crowther said: "This has been a long-standing issue, first brought to my attention in October 2021, when anti-social behaviour issues were raised and reported to River Clyde Homes (RCH) to investigate.

“Since then, claims of alleged anti-social behaviour and other criminal activities by the tenant were regularly reported to RCH and also raised with Inverclyde Council’s community partnership hub.

“A number of meetings were scheduled, bringing all partners, residents and Stuart McMillan MSP together, with a view to resolving the issues raised. However the anti-social behaviour continued almost unabated until the tenant was finally offered and accepted alternative accommodation earlier this year.

"“Whilst River Clyde Homes may have exercised a duty of care for their tenant they most certainly did not reciprocate that to the other elderly tenants of the property. The allegations were apparently rejected due to lack of evidence, until one of the residents installed a camera which supported the allegations previously made.

“Questions were raised about alleged breaches of RCH tenancy agreement and a number of other RCH policies, to no avail, which led to hours of police and community warden service officers time investigating the allegations, and the feeling is that if RCH had taken the allegations seriously in the first instance then the other property residents would not have endured years of anti-social behaviour."

River Clyde Homes told the Tele that they had did everything in their power to resolve the situation.

A spokesman said: "River Clyde Homes takes all complaints of anti-social behaviour seriously and we work with partner agencies to address this type of behaviour promptly. 

"We took action to investigate the concerns raised and worked closely with Police Scotland and Inverclyde Council Community Wardens, to support customers and ensure their safety and well-being.

"This was a challenging situation for all concerned and the tenant in question has since been relocated.

"River Clyde Homes is always open to discussing ways to improve our services and address community concerns, and we appreciated the positive feedback provided by Mr Mitchell once this case was resolved. 

"We understand the concerns of the elected member, but as he was kept informed throughout the process he should be in no doubt the situation was treated seriously and in as timely a manner as possible. 

"We will continue to work collaboratively with customers and our partners and are committed to ensuring our communities are a safe and welcoming place to live.” 

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “We work closely with our partners, including police and housing associations, to tackle anti-social behaviour throughout the area and respond to issues as and when they are raised and our support includes the use of our community wardens service.

“Wardens patrolled the area in question for several months as part of the multi-agency response to this issue.

“The matter has since been resolved and we would like to thank residents for their support during this difficult time.

“Anti-social behaviour is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“Incidents of anti-social behaviour can be reported through the council website or by calling the community wardens on 0800 01 317 01.”

Police Scotland Inspector Paul Thompson said: “We are aware of the adverse impact that anti-social behaviour has on our local communities. We worked with a range of partners including the local authority to resolve this matter.

“If anyone has any further concerns, they should contact Police Scotland on 101.”