Third drug den is busted! (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Third drug den is busted!

Tracey ToombsA THIRD crackhouse in Swindon will be closed as police continue their war on drugs in the town. Officers will now move in on 7 Shirley Close, Walcot, after magistrates granted permission for the raid.

Occupant Tracey Toombs tried in vain to block the closure order.

Police said residents were too scared to give evidence at yesterday's court hearing. They have compiled a dossier of complaints from neighbours about drug dealing activity at the property.

And Swindon Magistrates Court yesterday issued a closure order allowing police to move in and board up the three-bedroom house.

The move follows crackhouse closures in Emlyn Square in February and in Inglesham Road, Penhill, last month.

Jerry Law, anti-social behaviour investigation at the council, told the court residents in Shirley Close had really suffered.

"They are at the end of their tether," he said.

Miss Toombs, who has two children who live with their father, denied the house was used for taking or selling drugs and could not explain why people came to the house late at night.

She said she was trying to get a transfer to another council house elsewhere in Swindon.

Her solicitor Philip Hall said the police had no evidence against her despite searching the property. He stressed she had no convictions for drugs offences and said the police were acting on hearsay.

"If I was to refer to it as evidence I would have to put inverted commas around it," he said.

"It is just one layer of assumption and supposition on top of another. People in that area might be sick of certain things happening at that address, people coming there and being inconsiderate but have you heard evidence that this is related to the drugs trade?"

But Inspector Steve Bridge, representing Swindon Police, said neighbours were scared to give evidence directly to the court.

"Mr Hall seeks to call it gossip," he said. "Our experience is it is a frightened community who are concerned and trying to put forward their fears and concerns for themselves and their families as best they can."

The court heard that the council had started the process to try to evict Miss Toombs because of anti-social behaviour at the house, which is in an area where many families and elderly people live.

Magistrate Susan Wolfe-Barry, chairwoman of the bench, said they were satisfied that it was more than likely the premises were being used a base for drug use and supply.

"We have decided that the need to protect the local community outweighs the rights of Miss Toombs in this instance," she said.

The closure is due to take place either today or tomorrow.

After the case Insp Bridge said: "Obviously we are pleased with the result. The supply or dealing of drugs is a serious concern within the community.

"We hope by getting this order we can improve the lives of the residents of Shirley Close and improve their safety." Miss Toombs declined to comment.

Danger to public

POLICE closed down a crackhouse in Penhill that was making nearby residents' lives a misery. Declan McGettigan, 49, was ordered by Swindon Magistrates' Court to leave his council house in Inglesham Road last month. The building will be closed for three months.

Heroin addict McGettigan had allowed Class A drugs to be dealt from his home.

Prostitutes also worked from the property and needles would often be found outside the house, which is near a children's play area and two schools.

District judge Simon Cooper ordered the house be shut down, as it was a danger to the public.

Concerns

In February Hosea Stewart's Emlyn Square flat in the Railway Village was raided by police, who found it full of drugs paraphernalia. They found 10 people and made four arrests, before organising for the flat to be boarded up.

It was the first crackhouse in Wiltshire to be shut down as part of Operation Crackdown, using new laws. The property was targeted after police built up a dossier of complaints about drug-related activity.

Information was also left on the Advertiser backed Swindon Drugs Hotline.

Isabel Field