A notorious council house-cum-drug den has been shut down until February next year as a stark warning to those committing anti-social behaviour in the area.
Dacorum Borough Council has been granted a premises closure order for one of its properties in Everest Way, Hemel Hempstead, due to the abuse of class A drugs in the home.
No-one, including the tenant, will be allowed access to the property for three months – the maximum possible length of the order – due to the severity of the behaviour and crimes committed there.
The move follows a series of raids carried out by police in order to drive out drug lords infiltrating the town from London and surrounding areas.
The tenant of the infamous Adeyfield house, 37-year-old Michelle Wakeling, was arrested and charged on suspicion of possessing heroin during the raids, which were carried out in September .
The warrants were executed in a number of homes across the town under Operation Calamus – part of wider force initiative Operation Scorpion – to drive down crime and make Herts a ‘hostile’ place for all offenders..
Earlier this month, Wakeling pleaded guilty to the offence and was given a six-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge.
Little more than a fortnight later, she was evicted under the order on the evidence of officers from the council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team and police.
Watford Magistrates Court was satisfied that the property should be temporarily closed down to prevent more crime from occurring in the area and provide relief for neighbours affected by the anti-social behaviour.
Borough council cabinet member for residents and regulatory services Neil Harden said: “Local residents raised concerns about anti-social behaviour in the area, so our Anti-Social Behaviour Team worked with police to take action and get the premises closed.”
Chief Insp for Dacorum Glen Channer oversaw the drug warrant initiative, which supports ongoing covert methods of gathering intelligence about drug crime in the borough.
He said: “I am pleased that by working together with Dacorum Borough Council we have removed a tenant whose behaviour adversely affected the residents in Everest Way.
“They abused the privilege of being given a residential property and we will continue to work with the council to tackle others who cause anti-social behaviour.”