Shut down on same street: two properties at centre of around-the-clock drug dealing and anti-social behaviour

Two properties at the centre of drug dealing and anti-social behaviour - including fights with machete-wielding thugs - have been shut down on the same street in Stockton.

Teesside Magistrates' Court granted closure orders against two properties on Headlam Court, in Tilery, after reading how residents in the local area were left living in fear and at times were scared to leave their own homes.

Witnesses spoke of drugs being bought at all hours, saying "this is blatant and not hidden at all".

Others claimed to have witnessed a fight where males with machetes climbed into the windows of one of the flats, an incident which left them "extremely scared, anxious, and unable to settle due to the fear of them returning".

In statements from Cleveland Police, District Judge Mallon read how the two addresses were "inextricably linked" with drugs being "passed from one address to another" and "drug dealing taking place through the front window" of one of the two properties.

Stockton Neighbourhood Policing Team, which has carried out a number of raids and stop searches on the street over the last few months, added they were "certain that if these properties are not closed then the activities will simply continue and likely to get worse in the form of regular violence".

The information before the court included that during a police raid earlier this month officers discovered "drugs, cash and evidence of ongoing dealing" as well as "multiple knives" at the address, resulting in three people being arrested.

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, in partnership with Cleveland Police, yesterday  (Wednesday 2 October) secured closure orders on both of the one-bedroom flats, which will now be inaccessible to anyone for three months. 

Councillor Norma Stephenson, the Council's Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety, said: "The shocking activities in and around these two properties at all times of day and night have made residents' lives a misery, and they've had enough.

"People have an absolute right to live their lives in peace and not be scared to leave their own homes or have to witness violent incidents like those described here.

"I'm very pleased these closure orders will bring some peace to the neighbourhood and allow residents to live a normal life and not in fear, and I hope this sends the message that this kind of behaviour will absolutely not be tolerated in our communities.

"I'd like to thank our Civic Enforcement Officers for their hard work and dedication to help secure the closure order alongside the local policing team."

Inspector Matt Reeves from Stockton's Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) said: "We will continue to work with the council and take action against those who make the lives of residents an absolute misery.

"As always, we would urge anyone suffering in their community as a result of others' behaviour to contact us, so that we can work to resolve the issues. Please call 101 with any information."

Both properties are managed by the Thirteen Group who fully support the closure orders, saying it "will give residents the quickest possible peace they deserve".