EXCLUSIVE: Mother’s sadness at having to raise her children in Harold Hill block of flats where she passes drug addicts, drunks and men exposing themselves on the stairwell.

A mum has issued a desperate plea to the council to rehome her and her family after living in nightmare conditions for three years.

Regan has five children and is also raising her 16 year old brother in a flat on top of the Hilldene shops on Farnham Avenue in Harold Hill. As she lives on the second floor, everytime she has to go down stairs it means passing drug addicts, drunks lying on the stairs and men using the entrance as a toilet.

She told the Havering Daily:

“I really did not want to move here. i am trying to raise money family here and it really is awful.

“Everytime we need to go out, we have to use the stairs and there are always drunks or drug addicts leaving drug packets on the floor.”

Regan was horrified when she recently found a packet of drugs on her kitchen floor.

“When my children are asleep, I clean my floor and last week I found a packet of drugs on the floor. Either myself or my partner must have trod on it and bought it home by accident. What is scary is the fact that one of my children or my animals might well have found the packet and then what would have happened?

“I don’t want to raise my family this way. Everyday to go out we have to pass these drug addicts or drunks to get to the doorway. On one occasion, one of the drunks had his trousers down and was going to the toilet as myself and my children were coming down the stairs. I can’t raise my children in a place like this.”

Regan has been looking to private rent and tells us: “Landlords are asking for guarantors who earn four times the amount of the rent payment. We don’t know anyone like that. I am trying every possible way to move my family away from here.

“I really am out of options no and do not know what else to do.”

Regan has also had problems with the flat including a leak in the bathroom that has meant human faeces has flowed down her wall.

“I have many emails showing how I reported this incident to the council so many times. When they finally came and fixed the leak, they didn’t fix it properly and the faeces ran down our bathroom walls.

“I also have two radiators not working properly, one that is virtually falling off the wall.”

Regan is doing her best to move her children to another area where she can raise her family in a positive environment, but is now suffering anxiety due to the pressure she is under.

“I’m at my wits end, I have reported everything that goes on here but nothing is being done. I cannot raise my family like this.”

Councillor Paul McGeary, Cabinet Member for Housing, told the Havering Daily:

“We’re sorry to hear of the difficulties that our resident has been experiencing.

We are aware of the problems affecting the flats and have a programme in place to address the issues raised by Ms McGimpsey and local councillors, including additional caretakers, a contractor appointed to carry out maintenance works on the flats and a handyperson service.

We sent a member of staff to visit the area to look into some of the problems and we’ll be sharing our findings with the police’s safer neighbourhood team and our housing officer.

“Any Council tenant found to be in breach of their tenancy will face action.

“We’ve also stopped the leak from the flat above and we’ll be returning to repair all the damages to a plan agreed with the resident.

“The residential block is part of our improvements program and the renewal and strengthening works of the communal doors both front and back are due to start in September 2023 to prevent unwanted access to communal spaces to tackle anti-social behaviour.

“We will also be carrying out immediate repairs to the door that has been vandalised allowing access to the staircase lobby where the drug taking occurred, with the Maglocks being replaced.

“With regards to moving from the property, the resident has made us aware that she would like to move and we are supporting her to look for alternative accommodation.”

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