A nightmare neighbour has made a couple’s lives hell with his anti-social behaviour, they said.
And without action, there could be “potentially tragic consequences”, according to the chair of the residents’ association.
Lee Durrant and his girlfriend Mary said that they had had trouble sleeping after the man moved into the flat downstairs from them in February last year.
They complained of loud music through the night including 1am karaoke and their neighbour banging on the ceiling during the day.
They were also threatened with violence if they went to the authorities and feel broken because, they said, Brighton and Hove City Council is not taking action.
Mr Durrant, who grew up in Coldean and has lived in his flat for 19 years, was advised by housing officials more than once to consider moving home.
He said: “Straight away he was keeping us awake all night, banging, crashing, shouting for the whole night and it went on for three nights on the trot.
“I was supposed to be resting after coming out of hospital. I went down and knocked on the door. I asked if he could keep it down.
“He said: ‘You’re the one making all the noise. Your dog’s barking. I’ve got covid and when I feel better, I’m coming to have a word with you.’
“I thought, oh great. He came round and apologised and asked to use our internet but I said no. It carried on and I rang up environmental health with the banging (and) loud music.
“Environmental health went round and, as soon as they’d gone, he smashed the door and shouted at me – and his girlfriend was screaming in my face.
“He said: ‘If you don’t stop this, I’m going to get people round to sort you out.’”
Mr Durrant has a head injury which makes him feel nervous. He was intimidated because his new neighbour told him that he had been in prison for a violent crime – which he has.
Other threats have included burning a neighbour’s house down and to “kill someone one day”.
There are also concerns that drug dealers are visiting the area, prompting Mr Durrant to buy a video doorbell.
Mr Durrant said: “If we do anything during the day, like hoovering or talking or putting the television on, he’s smashing the ceiling.
“Some nights it’s been so bad it has reduced us to tears as he waits for us to come home and then puts music on so loud the whole place is shaking.”
There was a break for a while when housing officers became involved. But over the past 22 months, at least four housing workers have tried with the issues, they said, with no effective action.
Mr Durrant said: “He doesn’t want to move because he wants to destroy our lives.
“We never know when we’re going to get any sleep or be threatened again. We never know who is coming to our door and we have to live like this.”
Mr Durrant has received support from Coldean Residents’ Association who have written to councillors and Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas.
Residents’ association chair Deborah Yuill felt compelled to take action after Mr Durrant broke down at the group’s December meeting.
Mrs Yuill said: “It is clear that Lee is at particular risk because of his vulnerable condition.
“For someone to say they ‘wish they were dead’ because of the problems their neighbours are causing them is the most serious of charges.
“It is clear from what Lee said that we are looking at potentially tragic consequences and, to my mind, that warrants urgent action on the part of the council which is responsible for the housing in question.”
She added: “No one should have to move house because a neighbour is threatening them and carrying out anti-social and illegal acts.”
Ms Lucas has contacted the council, urging officials to find “lost” evidence of noise diaries and recordings made on two separate occasions.
Mr Durrant also received help from his former Green councillor Martin Osborne who did not seek re-election in May.
Coldean’s police community support officer (PCSO) has also been in regular contact.
Mr Durrant was, though, unsuccessful in taking his case to the Housing Ombudsman.
The council said: “We are very sorry about the difficulties Mr Durrant has reported.
“We cannot comment on individual cases but where necessary we always exhaust our legal powers to prevent anti-social behaviour from occurring and provide support to victims when they are affected.
“Decisions on eviction are made by judges based on the evidence presented to them, not by the council.
“Issues relating to alleged criminal damage, threats, intimidation and drug dealing are matters for the police in the first instance.
“We would advise any residents experiencing such issues to report such activities to the police.”
I recently contacted a councillor in Coldean. I explained everything that has happened to Lee and Mary due to their downstair’s neighbour. That according to the councillor was not enough and when I asked in reply “How would you like to live like this?” The councillor was not happy saying that no eviction was easy and had to go through the courts. The councillor said they needed more evidence from other neighbours. The other neighbours are too afraid of this extremely violent and aggressive person to make a complaint. It does seem like no one can be bothered to resolve this terrifying situation.
The council does not need a judge to evict the muppet, breach of rental contract multiple times is enough
Eviction of a council tenant has to go through a court.
The figures for how many people have been evicted from antisocial behaviour compared to how many antisocial cases are brought to the council is very concerning to me. Even on individual cases I’ve supported others in, involving kicking down people’s doors, aggressive, and hate-filled language, still has not resulted in someone being evicted.
My opinion is this. Social Housing is at a premium. If you are lucky enough to have one, you should do everything you can to be harmonious with your neighbours, as it’s a sign of respect. I think the council could be much more strict when it comes to evictions. It wouldn’t increase homelessness, as we have a waiting list several years long, it would simply mean that we are rewarding good behaviour and outing bad actors from enjoying the advantage that social housing provides.
I do wonder why the bar for eviction in social housing is set so ridiculously high. I recall recent articles published here regarding the housing of known drug dealers in Craven Vale and appalling anti social behaviour at the two tower blocks in Hollingdean. Could it be because the alternative would be for the councill to house the evicted in expensive temporary housing indefintely? If there is no threat of eviction, where is the deterrent? Not expecting you to definitively answer these questions BTW, just trying to understand the problem.
You’ve not been the first the ask that particular question either.
Being evicted for ASB doesn’t put an obligation on the council for temporary or emergency housing schemes as far as I’m aware, but instead, there’s usually a heavy need to provide a lot of evidence to progress an eviction. That can be a barrier, as how do you record and collect enough evidence to support that in a way that doesn’t bring more trouble to yourself? This article demonstrates how the recording aspect can reasonably cause vindictive and retaliatory behaviours from the culprit.
I’d certainly like to explore this more at Area Panel when the next housing report is out; at the very least so I can better understand the barriers. There’s an alternative opinion in that mediation has been successful enough that it’s reduced the need for eviction to single percentages, but…I’m a bit doubtful that’s the case.
It is simply not fair that the council houses monsters next to decent people. Social housing is in short supply and is a privilege to get not a right. They should be evicted. As for evidence this should be easy to get.
Mary and Lee are a married couple, Lee has a head injury which has left him extremely vulnerable, video’s of this “COLDEAN CONMAN” actually fighting and smashing a chair over his victims head, have been shown both to the police AND council….YET….he is still here….WHY!!!!!!!….He has even been banned from our local shop…I’m assuming for theft, he deals and uses drugs openly on the street, i can safely say, i have NEVER met such a horrible individual in my 62 years of life as him. Most of coldean has in one way or another been targeted by this so called human, he is dubbed the “COLDEAN CONMAN” for umpteen reasons, he scrounges cash from the vulnerable and doesn’t pay it back He said he changed his name by deed poll to hide from his own family. His family name is BATES….from moulscombe.
Dympna – I really hope you all, particularly Mr & Mrs Durrant, get some respite from this fiend, sooner rather than later. It beggers belief, that officialdom can not, or are not able to respond to this dire situation. There are also situations where people are targetted in a more covert way, making the lives of others hell. So difficult to get evidence, if nigh on impossible. So no hope! Wishing you all the best. xxx
Thank you Anne for your support.x.
The council can’t just move someone though, because the neighbourhood doesn’t like him. If this neighbour is so scarey , why on earth have this couple complained about their neighbour in a public newspaper ? If this neighbour plays loud music all night , then surely the whole road must be sending in noise complaints but reading this article it looks like it is only one flat complaining about the noise and everyone else is complaining that they don’t like this man living in their village. Do other people hear his music or not ? And the article says the man changed his name by deed poll to escape from his family and then the article puts out his former family surname. Is this responsible? Maybe the council needs to sound proof the flats more, as this couple may be more delicate due to their health issues. Sound like it’s a thin walls issue. With one man complaining about day time noise and the couple complaining about nighttime noise.
I, and other neighbours HAVE complained numerous times, we continue to complain, yet NOTHING gets done….. I….ME….am the one who put his name out there, for a very VERY good reason😉. YOU, on the other hand seem to know only what you’ve read just now, you clearly know NOTHING, yet your here picking holes, and set yourself up as judge and jury….how dare you!!!!!…we are not JUST exposing our harasser, we are also exposing the council, who have “mislaid” important paperwork regarding this situation. Please, next time you want to sit in judgement, do your homework first🤬
Who have you been sending in your complaints to though? Just to the newspapers ? I thought there wasn’t enough evidence to evict him. If you all have complaints about this same noisy neighbour , then has the evidence been lost from everyone? Or is it just that noone wants this man living in their neighbourhood and the complaints are about him , rather than about the nuisance he causes by living next door/living in the same block etc ?
Now “my dear sceptic”…we do not know how much evidence or what evidence has been mislaid by the council, all we know is there is a very large bulge under that carpet that the council use to make evidence go away. If you REALLY want to know, or ask anymore STUPID questions, then go ask the council, …maybe YOU could stir them into FINALLY acting properly, and doing what’s right for DECENT living people, I am begining to wonder are You a nasty neighbour too, given you seem to be showing symptoms much like our own problem neighbour., HE does and says things SPECIFICALLY to wind us up…..JUST LIKE YOUR DOING RIGHT NOW!!!!! wise up!!!!!
Reading the article in the paper above. There has been complaints and detailed diary comments missing. So the council needs to find these details and work to evict this awful person who has no respect of the council home his neighbours etc. Residents should not have to put up with these kind of people. People who enjoy making peoples lives miserable and unable to function through threats,drug taking and drug dealing amongst other things too.
Sally there have been numerous complaints from other neighbours, over a period of nearly two years, but the Council seem to have mislaid them. Hence the desperate decision to go to the newspaper. We have copied, pasted, and sent them in again, and copied in Caroline Lucas’ office, who have already responded. Hopefully it’s being looked into properly now.
Envioronmental Health should be dealing with it. I had a problem with a noisy neighbour a few years ago, and a week after I sent them the details, the troublemaker left. I was very impressed and relieved. And if the man is being threatened, surely the police should be involved?
A few years ago I had a problem with my anti-social neighbour. After much to-ing and fro-ing between me, the council and the neighbour, the council eventually issued an eviction notice to the neighbour.
Two weeks after that, the council agreed the sale of the property to said neighbour!
Sooooooooo….the council have shit on you too, yet your questioning US…ha!!!!!
Oops, sorry, I thought you were another person who has been a pain in the backside😁