NEIGHBOURS in Worcester have praised police after a nightmare family were evicted from their home.

The family – a woman believed to be in her 40s, her daughter in her 20s and two other young children – were evicted from the Fortis Living property in Tunnel Hill yesterday, Wednesday, July 29, following a raft of complaints from neighbours about drug dealing and anti-social behaviour from the house.

PC Tim Wood from the Gorse Hill and Rainbow Hill Safer Neighbourhood Team said police had worked with Fortis Living to address the concerns, including carrying out warrants at the house in March and May, during which drugs worth of a total of about £600 were found.

PC Wood said: “Neighbourhood policing is a service to improve quality of life by working closely with the community.

“We tackled anti-social behaviour in the community and took positive action. On this occasion the tenants are losing their home.

“We work to protect communities through robust enforcement to tackle drug related crime and anti-social behaviour.”

His colleague PC Jon Griffith said: “It has really affected the quality of life of people living there”.

When police and Fortis enforcement officers turned up at the house just before midday on Wednesday morning the family were in the process of moving out and left without causing a scene, driving off in an Audi A3.

The garden and the inside of the house were in a dreadful condition, with damage to walls and floors and piles of toys and other items left behind. A set of children’s clothes had even been left hanging on a drying rack.

Fortis enforcement officer Paul Adams said the house now needed to be brought back to a liveable standard before a new tenant could move in.

“For us evicting someone with kids is a lousy result but we’ve got no choice,” he said. “Someone losing their house is an absolute sanction.”

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said the problems had started when the woman’s adult daughter had moved in last September.

“The last few months have been horrendous,” he said. “The mother has been leaving the property at the weekend and leaving us at the mercy of the daughter.

“They’ve had parties during the week, not beginning until 11 or 12 at night.

“It’s a nice little community we’ve got here and people like that disrupt it.”

He also praised the police and Fortis, saying: “They’ve been brilliant.

“We had to ring the police on several occasions.

“We didn’t set out to go this far but we just wanted it stopped.”

It is not known where the woman and her younger children are now staying, but the adult daughter is believed to have gone to stay with her father.

Any problems with drug dealing or anti-social behaviour can be reported to police on 101.

Information can also be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org.