PERSISTENT drug dealing and violent crime has brought one Brentwood resident to the brink of despair – and she is now threatening to withhold her mortgage until she can switch it to a different property.
Laura Thomas, who has lived in Rollason Way for the past seven years, has outlined a litany of incidents that she says is making her and her partner's life unbearable.
In the past 18 months she said she has been subjected to what she described as "insufferable living conditions" – which she blames on several individuals who are tenants of the housing association Circle Anglia.
The 30-year-old public servant, who part-owns her property, claims that because of these tenants criminals are being attracted to the area.
Miss Thomas believes Circle Anglia has failed to address the problem and she is refusing to make any more mortgage payments on her Botham House flat, unless she can switch it to another property.
She claims she and her partner have repeatedly been the victims of postal thefts, with the most recent occurring in June this year, when she also had her purse stolen from outside her front door.
Miss Thomas also claims there is a persistent issue with drugs. In one of the most recent incidents, on July 7, she arrived home to find four youths sat on her car drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis.
When she challenged them she said they became intimidating. "The police attended and were extremely sympathetic and offered reassurance that they were doing all they could to combat the problem," she said.
"However, only so much can be done by the police and to eradicate the problem Circle would need to take more robust action against this behaviour.
"On July 8 I went downstairs to go to work and to check both my vehicles.
"Upon close inspection I saw damage to both cars on the paint work whereby someone had attempted to gain access and in the process, caused deep scratches and chips to the driver side on one door and both front doors on the other car."
Then at around 10.30am on July 13, Miss Thomas says she saw a half-dressed man covered in blood, waving a knife in the air, berating someone who was accusing him of stealing his drugs.
"I immediately contacted 999 to report what was happening," she said.
"There was obviously a lot of police activity and throughout this time I felt like a prisoner in my own home, as I was too scared to open the front door.
"This was a very frightening situation, which has resulted in myself being afraid to walk outside my own home."
She has now written to her mortgage provider warning she is stopping all mortgage and rental payments within the next month unless she can move.
She wrote: "I am fully aware that should I not receive the support I am asking for then the defaults on the mortgage and rental will lead to the property being repossessed.
"I shall be blacklisted and possibly have to declare bankruptcy.
"I would like to stress that this is not an easy decision to make or one I have taken lightly.
"However I feel I am left with no choice.
"I have to move from the property as my quality of life is becoming unbearable and my health and mental well-being is becoming affected."
Miss Thomas is not alone in her concerns.
Another man, whom the Gazette agreed not to name, said antisocial behaviour was a recurring problem.
He added: "We have got a massive drug problem down here and half the problem is to get people to speak out about it."
However, Paul Downie, who has lived in Rollason Way for seven years, was more sanguine.
The 45-year-old said: "I'm not saying for a minute there are not problems down here, but if people are refusing to talk because they are scared then that is daft. I think most of the problems originate from neighbours not getting on for whatever reason."
Adrian Shaw, group head of leasehold management at Circle Housing Group said: "We are committed to ensuring that all our residents have a safe place to live and are working alongside the police and local council to tackle anti-social behaviour at Rollason Way.
"Circle has installed a door stop to ensure that the main front entrance door automatically closes and will shortly be introducing CCTV in the communal areas."
A police spokesman said: "Police are dealing with the reports made by the victim and investigations are in hand. Police are aware of problems surrounding drug use and antisocial behaviour in and around that area and have an operation in place to target the Railway Square area.
"Patrols have been increased and PCSO are undertaking regular checks on the area. Anyone with any intelligence about criminal activity in the area should contact the Neighbourhood Crime team at Brentwood on 101.
"Undercover police work is taking place, but for operational reasons we cannot give any information at this time."
