A scared dad of three said his children would wake up throughout the night crying to 'sex noises' coming from a Nottingham drug den. The frightened neighbour, who does not wish to be named, has lived at the address on Manifold Gardens in The Meadows for 16 years.
He said he had desperately tried to move out of the area due to the criminal activity happening at a property nearby. Sometimes, he told Nottinghamshire Live, drug den visitors would knock on his door by mistake in the middle of the night.
"I was targeted by them", the neighbour said. He also claimed he has received racial abuse verbally.
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The resident, who is also disabled, said: "I would hear them having sex upstairs. There was a lot of sex noise.
"They were doing drugs and all sorts of things. It was like a brothel as well. The women were having sex and smoking cannabis."
The heartbroken dad added: "I have three children - it was very scary. They were jumping upstairs waking up my children to sex noise.
"My children were crying. People were knocking on my door in the middle of the night, thinking my home was the place.
"I would open the door and they would say 'wrong address'. It was a nightmare."
On Monday, police and council teams closed down the property in Manifold Gardens. The address has been described by police as a 'magnet' for criminal activity in the area including drug use, prostitution and serious antisocial behaviour.
A spokesperson for the Nottingham City Council said the action was led by the council’s ASB team and followed complaints from people in the area about drug-related activity and associated noise nuisance having a significant detrimental impact on them. The move will result in the eviction of the tenant and the property’s closure for three months, the council said.
The heartbroken neighbour said he is disabled, and the criminal activity at the address put more pressure on his family. He said he reported the nuisance to 101 "many times".
He also alleged that people at the property would throw drugs from the window into the backyard, and jump from the window upstairs. "The police found drugs in their bin", he added.
"It does feel like hell", said another neighbour.
This resident has lived at the address since 2006. "I always knew about it", she added.
"I do not smoke anything but I know. There are children living here [in the area] and it is not good."
She added: "I feel bad for buying this house. I am worried about it.
"It does not make the area enjoyable to live in. I am happy my children are all grown up.
"I wanted to foster - but I did not because of this. This is the kind of behaviour that you could not expose a foster child to."
Neighbourhood police worked with the Antisocial Behaviour Enforcement Team at Nottingham City Council to successfully apply for a Closure Order at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court. This makes it an offence for anyone to enter or remain on the premises with the exception of emergency services, the landlord or authorised representative.
Anyone who breaches the order - including the previous occupants - will be committing a criminal offence and liable to a fine or imprisonment. The order will be in place for three months with a possible extension to six months.
Sergeant Richard Hunter, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "This property had become a focus for drug-related criminality and antisocial behaviour.
"Neighbouring residents were left living in fear, and having spoken to them personally I know they are extremely relieved that we have now been able to take such decisive action to protect them. I hope they now feel safer within their community and can get on with their lives.”
Principal Enforcement Officer Laura Bland said: “My enforcement officers have worked tirelessly with the Meadows Beat Team, Nottingham City Council Housing Services and the local community to take robust action to offer much needed respite to the local community from the serious nuisance and disorder at the property.”
“This has only been possible through exemplary partnership work between the police and the council."
