A single mum and her young daughter have been left traumatised and living in fear due to ongoing anti-social behaviour involving drug abuse, fighting and loud music at their social housing accommodation in Warrington.
Despite numerous appeals for help to her landlord and police, nothing has been done to resolve the ongoing issues involving anti-social behaviour at Greenings Court off Battersby Lane.
Her young daughter has been left so frightened and traumatised she can’t sleep at night, leaving her too tired to attend school.
On Christmas Day, as they attempted to attend a church lunch, they were confronted by a naked man covered in blood on the stairwell near their home.
Warrington Worldwide has protected the identity of the woman who outlines the ongoing issues below. She had to move into the social housing provided by Sanctuary Housing, following the sudden death of her husband in 2022.
Describing the incident on Christmas Day, she said: “We did not dare to go to church for the morning worship at our church. We didn’t dare to leave our home for the Christmas Day worship or for the Christmas Day lunch because they were arguing, shouting and fighting, screaming, banging so much in the nearby apartment. It had never happened before; they were arguing so rudely that we hadn’t heard of them before. No matter how much we wanted to take part in the worship, we couldn’t.
“We called the police again, others called them too, I know that because the police said on the phone. Around lunchtime, when it was time for our Christmas lunch at church, we really wanted to be there so we cautiously ventured out into the stairwell, and what we encountered and what we saw was brutal.
“It completely traumatised us. A naked man came into the building from outside. And when he came to meet us, what greeted us was that the man’s face was covered in blood and his upper body as well. My little girl was so scared, every part of her body was shaking as she had never done before in her life. She was so scared that I felt like my child wanted to crawl into my body. Everything was shaking. I tried to protect and hide my child behind my back in case something happened. The man looked drunk. I froze and stopped on the stairs. And I prayed that he would walk past us and leave us alone. We managed to get out of the building. And with shaking hands, I drove to the church. From there, I had to call the police again. I feel the traumatising impact of this incident, because during the time I have to write these words, my hands are shaking again. And I think back on it with fear. My child has been dreaming about blood, which she never had before. Because of that, as a mother, I worry about if this whole thing caused her post-traumatic stress.”
The Christmas Day incident was one of many logged and reported to police, going back to November 2022, when the family was woken up three times because of the party at neighbouring premises.
She recalled: “Incredible noise music. Very loud music!!!! Shouting smoking cannabis…We are just so frustrated living here. Every weekend they have party. My daughter can’t sleep because of this behaviour.
“Already reported many times and nothing has changed. We are tired of it. When we try to knock on their door, they never hear of it or respond.
“Police said they can’t come to stop them unless they are fighting or something worse. They can’t come out because of the loud music.
“I have already contacted the town council about this flat. They said they can’t help much. I have to contact my landlord.. Who can stop this problem? Unfortunately, we never feel like we get help from our landlord.
“My child cries at night when she can’t fall asleep, and she can’t get up in the morning to go to school because the party goes on until dawn.
“We feel our home is not safe and secure anymore for a while.
“She said today our home is a chaotic place. When we have the opportunity to be away from home for a few days, and when we get home, my little girl starts talking about how much she hates living here.
“The constant exposure to an unpredictable and hostile environment, unfortunately, creates a constant state of stress for both of us. Which obviously creates fear and lasting anxiety in my child as well. This is my greatest heartache as a mother to see my child like this.
“I see and feel irritability in ourselves sometimes because of helplessness, and it leads to a constant feeling of “tension” in me, even when the immediate situation is calm.
“We both feel that we are not safe in our own home, which should be the opposite of what we should feel, a refuge, but I feel the demoralising effect.
“I often feel hopeless, and sometimes I feel like I am depressed, which significantly affects my quality of life, our quality of life. The regular noise (yelling, arguing, banging on the wall, banging on the door, moving furniture during arguments, regular door slamming, dog barking, shouting so that even our apartment shakes with these noises causes such problems for my child that she cannot fall asleep or has difficulty falling asleep due to fear. This completely disrupts a healthy sleep routine. I have already contacted my child’s school about this problem. She can’t sleep at night and wakes up in the morning. And he is tired at school. I have already called our GP to ask for help because my child can’t sleep at night due to disturbing factors and feelings. I feel like this lack of sleep is exacerbating the stress. I feel like it is damaging my mental health, both for me and for my child. Because of this, both of us are more tired during the day. The constant worry makes our everyday lives difficult.
“This violent, disruptive anti-social behavior and the regular drug use,(daily) and that both of us have to smell regularly(daily) that I see them doing drugs and see them sharing drugs with each other and the regular unknown new people coming in and out of the building and sometimes in smaller groups, witnessing all of this creates a strong sense of fear in me and causes a loss of personal safety in my own home and in her community. My little girl is afraid to go down the stairs alone, afraid to stand alone outside the front door and we avoid certain areas. If something falls out of our patio door or falls behind the building without being picked up, I feel like I don’t dare go out and pick it up because they have developed a sense of fear because of these behaviours. Including the barking, unfriendly dog. My little girl is scared in the stairwell now if she hears any noise. She is afraid of people who live there.
“They are doing drugs every day now. But I don’t have the energy for it anymore, and it’s mentally very upsetting that I have to call the police and the landlord several times a week. Which of course takes hours. Waiting on the phone and interrupting my work.
“It is written in black and white in the Landlord Contract that those who regularly have anti-social behavior problems and those who use drugs must have their contract terminated.
“My child is visiting a therapist now because these ongoing issues are bothering her mental health so much. She talks about drug neighbours in school, to friends, and after school club staff. Talking about the fight and the police every week.
“Hopelessness is the feeling that nothing will change and the restlessness in everyday life because of this. To this day, the bicycle storage room, the building and its surroundings are still regularly used for drug use.
My child hasn’t dared to be in her own home in any room alone since the Christmas Day incident, unless the light in the hallway is on after dark. She only dares to be in her own bedroom alone if the light is on in the hallway.
“She didn’t dare to be alone in the living room after dark. She is afraid. Every single word I have to write here completely upsets me. We feel poor service from the landlord.
I have to keep in regular contact with the police for years now, with all the reference numbers I saved and kept each time after the anti-social behaviour report so I can prove this situation with reference numbers.I have 28 different reference numbers from the police.
A spokesperson for Sanctuary said: “We are aware of the concerns raised about anti-social behaviour (ASB) at Greenings Court and continue to work closely with local police officers to address the concerns as we understand the impact this is having on local residents.
“While enforcement action is already being progressed, we would again urge any residents who witness ASB or criminality of any sort to report the issue to us and the police immediately.”
Inspector Chris Webster from Cheshire Police added: “The local neighbourhood team are aware and is working in partnership with housing to deal with the reported issues.”
