AFTER months of warning about drugs and other anti-social behaviour police and housing association staff have evicted tenants from a house in Devizes.

The officers swooped on a property in Hillworth Road after a court gave Aster Group permission to carry out the eviction at the house. They found a terrible amount of squalor and rubbish including syringes strewn around both inside and outside the house.

Community coordinator PC Teresa Herbert said: “For some time now, this address has been used as a drop-in for many local people involved in drug abuse, and on a number of occasions police have been called to the address to deal with anti-social behaviour, drug related issues and violence.

"This is totally unacceptable behaviour and will not be tolerated.

“The tenant and those that frequent the property have been offered support and advice from the relevant agencies during this time but the issues have continued despite warnings that further issues would result in eviction.

“The property has been left in an appalling condition with damage, litter and used syringes littered about the location. This will be extremely costly for Aster to return to an acceptable living condition for future residents.

Dave Ball, Aster group's head of housing in Wiltshire, said: “We take reports of suspected drug use and anti-social behaviour very seriously.

"Our dedicated anti-social behaviour team works closely with the police and with local residents to resolve any issues of concern and we will take appropriate action to ensure our communities remain safe.

"We are committed to helping reduce illegal activity in our local communities and to providing people with a safe and secure environment to live.”

PC Herbert said she was delighted with the way police and the housing association had worked together and had taken the problem seriously so people living nearby could feel safe.

She said: “I am pleased that through some excellent partnership working between the local community policing team and Aster, that these tenants have now been evicted.

"I hope this reassures the members of our local community that we take issues of this nature seriously and will do all that we can to ensure residents feel safe and protected within their communities.”