'Cuckooing' gang at victim's flat a 'nightmare'

Residents of an independent living complex have told how they endured years of anti-social behaviour surrounding a resident who they believe had been "cuckooed".

Pensioners at the complex in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said there was open drug use by people visiting another elderly resident in the council-controlled centre, but their complaints and concerns were ignored.

Sue, not her real name, said she was initially "so happy" to secure the flat but her living situation became an "absolute nightmare" due to the noise.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council said it was aware of the incident and admitted mistakes were made.

The residents believe the man had been a victim of so-called cuckooing, the term used when the home of a vulnerable person is taken over by criminals, who use it as a base for drug dealing or other illegal activities.

Sue told the BBC said she had initially loved her flat, but within eight weeks knew it "wasn't right for me".

She described how she went to her daughter's home to get some sleep, as a man where she lived had his television "blasting" 24 hours a day.

But despite the council coming out after she reported the noise, she said the man would turn the volume back up as soon as they had left.

"It was day in, day and night all the time," Sue added. "I used to sit on my bed just crying."

"There was a drug dealer that used to come in and collect his drugs four or five times a day with a really savage dog."

In February, the government announced cuckooing was set to become a specific criminal offence.

Another resident, who the BBC is calling Tony, said someone needed to be held accountable as complaints were made and "nothing was done" about the vulnerable man's situation.

"I believe he was cuckooed," he said.

"It was the fact that people were coming in and out of the building, getting in the building without a key, and it was being reported and nobody was doing anything."

Tony said it was an "ongoing" issue for nearly four years.

"Somebody's failed in the duty of care, haven't they, because the complaints were there and nothing was done," he added.

"We're the victims in this, and the council really didn't step up to the mark, although they tried to."

Chris Watkins, leader of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, said the authority had looked into the incident and there had been "some mistakes".

"We're all over any sort of cuckooing," he said. "We're working in conjunction with the police."

Watkins said there were rules that had to be followed, and the authority had to monitor noise "for many weeks" following a complaint to build up a case to take to court.

"There are rules that the council have to follow so we can build up cases; sometimes it does take longer than the residents want," he added.

"I'm just saying that we have learned lessons, we are looking at what happened, and we do realise that it did take longer than the residents expected it to take."

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