Young residents 'blight' complex

Some residents of a sheltered housing complex say their lives are being blighted by young people who have been allowed to move in.

South Kesteven District Council has opened up the Riverside development in Grantham, which used to house retired tenants, to vulnerable young people.

Tenants now claim they are plagued by drug taking and anti-social behaviour.

Tony Campbell from the council said the authority had to meet increasing demand for its council stock.

'Making arrests'

Mr Campbell added: "We have to face reality. We have a reducing stock of council housing in the district and increasing demand levels for our stock.

"There's a rising number of people on the waiting list and people we have to be re-housed because they're homeless. We have to put people in the most appropriate locations and make use of our stock."

Peter Clawson, chairman of the neighbourhood group at Riverside, said: "In the middle of the night you could be woken up with anything, shouting, screaming. You name it, we get it.

"We found a gang of youngsters drinking on the lawn in front of someone's flat ... just causing a nuisance.

"I think the youngsters try but it's just the policy that's wrong. When I was young I dreamed of retiring but now we're thinking whether we should move or not."

Pc Nikki Smith, of Lincolnshire Police, said the complex was patrolled regularly.

He said: "We are making arrests and disrupting the drug taking that goes on in the area."