A family living near to disgraced popstar Gary Glitter have been left fearing for their children's future after he moved into a property in their neighbourhood. Lauren Burke and husband Jonathan Wilson were appalled when they learned the disgraced pop star had been moved to a halfway house nearby.
According to DorsetLive, the couple live in Waterlooville, a small village near Portsmouth, having moved in a few years ago. Lauren and Jonathan say they were not made aware the property house sex offenders on their release from prison.
The home has been a cause of concern for parents like Lauren and Jonathan. But when Gary Glitter - real name Paul Francis Gadd - moved into the property after his release from prison, no one could have predicted the outrage. So far vigilantes have already tried to gain access to the house.
“You hear rumours,” said Jonathan, “But then we found out after we moved in for definite that the house was used for these people. Then, all of a sudden, his lordship arrived last week.
“Our children play in the woods which back on to their property, and we had to tell our kids like, don’t talk to them, don’t go near anyone there.
“Personally, I don’t like those sort of people full stop, the fact they’re slap bang in the middle of where we live, there are about six schools around here and all. Talk about taking the p*** out of society. This is enemy number one, and they’ve released them into the community.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry for Justice, which oversees the probation service and recently-released offenders, said: "Sex offenders like Paul Gadd are closely monitored by the police and Probation Service and face some of the strictest licence conditions including being fitted with a GPS tag. If the offender breaches these conditions at any point, they can go back behind bars. We've already introduced tougher sentences for the worst offenders and ended the automatic halfway release for serious crimes."
Hampshire Constabulary had to be called in when vigilantes attempted to gain entry to the halfway house. The story had the national spotlight and a debate raged over whether they were right to try and get in.
“We didn’t see anything,” Jonathan added, “But we did hear someone tried to get over the fence. It’s not highly secure.
“We’ve also heard that he might have been moved out, but nothing official. You’d think the news of him leaving might have been as big as him arriving. There are a lot of rumours."
The woodland Jonathan and Lauren’s children, aged 7, 4 and 3, play in backs on to a garden which forms part of the halfway house property in which Gary Glitter - and other sex offenders - are housed by the national probation service. Glitter was released from HMP The Verne last week and remains on strict licence conditions. If he reoffends or breaches the conditions which include telling the police where he is virtually at all times, he’ll be going back inside.
However, for many, these conditions aren’t enough. Lauren said: “People are not happy. I suspect any community where he’s moved will kick off, but we don’t want him here. We can see right into the property from the woodland, and they can see right out. They can see our kids playing.”
Jonathan added: “They have a child killer in there, apparently, sex offenders, and others. It just makes you angry. When Gary Glitter arrived, it was pretty emotional. People don’t want him around, certainly not in the middle of where people live.
“You’d think these people would be moved in the middle of a field, not where kids are.”
